


Descentale

by MelissaEM



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AFAB Frisk, AKA The Ones Who Made the Barrier, AMAB Chara, Chara's Backstory, Chara's Father - Freeform, Chara's Pronouns are They/Them, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Flowey is Going to Suffer, Flowey is Less of a Jerk Than Before, Frisk's Backstory, Frisk's Father - Freeform, Frisk's Pronouns are They/Them, M/M, Mentions of Death, Mentions of Murder, OC heavy, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Papyrus Knows More Than He Lets On, Romance, Seriously if you don't like Soriel this fanfic isn't for you, Slow Burn, Soriel, The Seven Magicians, Why Humans Couldn't Use Magic Anymore, possible minor character death, possible murder
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2018-09-17 06:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9308873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelissaEM/pseuds/MelissaEM
Summary: In the event monsters ever escaped their underground prison, humanity had a backup plan.Find out just how deep the relationship between monsters and humans are, and how much deeper it can get.(If you recognize this title, THIS IS NOT THE SAME DESCENTALE AS BEFORE. It's the same author, but I've been forced to re-write what I've written for a few important reasons. Please read the tags and author's notes for more information. Thank you!)





	1. Prologue

 

_Once upon a time, in the year 202X, a child named Frisk fell into the underground of Mt. Ebott, a place where it is said no one returns from._

_Frisk entered the Monster Kingdom, where they befriended everyone they met. Through their DETERMINATION, they were able to help shatter the barrier that kept monsters underground._

_Returning to the surface with their new friends, Frisk took on the role of monster ambassador, and helped spread the word about how friendly and peace-loving monsters truly were._

_Humanity, for the most part, welcomed their long-forgotten neighbors. To make up for the cruel and hateful actions of their ancestors, the humans helped build a large settlement at the base of Mt. Ebott for monsters to live in. The mountain and much of the surrounding land now belonged to monster-kind._

_Nearly two years later..._

_Frisk is now living with Toriel, Sans, and Papyrus as one happy family. Little do they know, someone has been watching them for quite some time now._

_Not only that, but this person has also been watching certain other humans as well... humans that all share something in common with them._

_And one such human is moving into the monster settlement with their child._

 

* * *

 

Name Frisk's partner.

**CHARA_**

The true name.

**CHARA**

No **Yes**


	2. Dust, Magic, and Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk and Toriel meet a new neighbor, yet they look disturbingly familiar. Meanwhile, that neighbor's mother gets an unusual welcome from Sans and Papyrus.

It had been nearly two years since monsters were freed from beneath Mt. Ebott, and for many, it was a rather exciting time. Humans had reacted with shock and awe upon being reintroduced to their unusual neighbors from the Underground. Some humans were fearful, and some were blindly hateful, both because monsters being real was something new and different that they didn't understand. Fortunately, thanks to Frisk's hard work and natural charisma, most humans were accepting and welcoming to monsters, and they even helped them get settled in on the surface. It was decreed by human leaders that Mt. Ebott would become a monster reservation, and a the beginnings of a large city was built surrounding the base of the mountain. King Asgore Dreemurr, still lacking in creativity as much as ever, named this city “New New Home”.

For a while, Frisk was the only human who lived in New New Home. Any other humans that showed up were usually tourists wanting pictures of monsters, or various human officials whom they had meetings with at the monster embassy office. Eventually, however, humans began showing interest in living in New New Home. Asgore consulted with his former wife, Toriel, on the matter. The king was more than willing to open the doors to any humans interested in befriending their kind, but he wondered if it was too soon for this. The city had not been standing all that long, after all, and despite the city's size, the monster population was already quite high. Toriel, in response, pointed out that it would improve relations between monsters and humans if their doors were opened to them. Plus, any humans living among them would give incentive to human leaders to provide any assistance that would improve quality of life in New New Home. Besides, with all the gold monsters possessed, she felt that they had plenty of resources to build as many homes for humans as needed. And so, open-minded humans looking for a cheaper, cleaner, more positive place to live took up residence in New New Home.

Frisk didn't mind having human neighbors, especially when they turned out to be far nicer and more accepting than most other humans they'd met in the past. However, it was around other human children that the monster ambassador found themselves feeling nervous. They never explained why to Toriel or their friends, but Frisk knew all too well how cruel human children could be. Frisk often recalled watching those chilling tapes from the True Laboratory, and how sick to their stomach it made them.

“ _I... I don't like this idea, Chara. Wh... what? N-no, I'm not... big kids don't cry. Yeah, you're right. No! I'd never doubt you, Chara... Never! Y...yeah! We'll be strong! We'll free everyone. I'll go get the flowers.”_

Poor Asriel. Chara had not been kind to their brother. They had manipulated and abused the young prince. And Frisk knew that they knew this, judging by the way their shared soul reacted to that conversation. Frisk remembered when, after the Barrier had broken, Asriel told them that Chara wasn't the greatest person; Chara had not taken those words well, judging by the wave of sorrow that overtook Frisk's soul in that instant. Thank goodness Frisk had such a good poker face. The last thing Asriel needed was to see their friend cry.

It was strange... Frisk had not felt Chara's presence ever since they walked away with Toriel from Mt. Ebott that fateful day. It was as though Chara's spirit was tied to the Underground. Frisk supposed that, for as long as Chara remained buried beneath those flowers in the Ruins, they would be stuck there forever. And yet, despite this, Chara's happier memories with Asriel often echoed in Frisk's dreams. Frisk could never forget those images, no matter how hard they tried; those memories were like a residue left behind on their soul long after Chara had left. They left Frisk feeling melancholy; the love between the two siblings warmed their heart, but knowing what became of that relationship, what became of those two children no older than Frisk themselves, was devastating.

Not to mention, Frisk was rather disturbed by Chara's appearance. They had a different skin tone than Frisk's, as well as large eyes, rosy cheeks, and a seemingly innocent smile. But they were also the same height as Frisk. Their hair, though a different color, was styled in the same fashion as Frisk's. The shape of their face was the same, too. They even wore a striped shirt. It was almost like looking into a mirror. No wonder Asriel had mistaken Frisk to be Chara.

So, imagine just how Frisk felt one Saturday afternoon when they saw whom they thought was Chara walking in broad daylight towards their front yard.

Frisk had playing with a stick by dragging gently it across the yard's white picket fence and listening to the resulting sounds. Their head perked up at someone chirping “Hello!” in a cheerful, high-pitched voice. Frisk dropped their stick in shock when they saw who had spoken. It was a child, no older than themselves, and though they lacked the striped shirt and rosy cheeks, they looked a great deal like Chara. Frisk stared at them, too frightened to move or make a sound.

“Oh, did I scare you?” asked the child. “I'm sorry! P-please, don't be upset! I... I was just trying to say hi!”

Frisk processed the child's words. Their voice did not sound like Chara's had in Frisk's mind. They did not speak like Chara did. And they seemed a bit more feminine than Chara was. But the hair, the eyes, the skin tone, even the shape of the face, those were the same.

Frisk swallowed hard. “... Who are you?” they asked quietly.

“Me? Um, my name's Patricia!” the child responded nervously. “But everyone calls me Pat,” she added with anxious smile. “I just moved to this town with my mom!”

Frisk let out a breath they didn't know they'd been holding. Not Chara. Thank goodness. “So... you're new here? When did you get here?”

Pat, seeing Frisk relax a bit, sighed with relief before speaking. “Mom and I just finished moving everything in last night! I was helping Mom unpack boxes today, but I got super-bored. Mom said I could go explore the city as long as I had my smartphone with me, so... here I am! So, what's _your_ name?”

Ah, so she didn't recognize them? Frisk wasn't self-absorbed, but they did know their reputation preceded them quite a bit. How would Pat react once she found out who she was talking to? Time to find out. “I'm Frisk Dreemurr,” they said with a smile.

Pat's jaw dropped. “WHAT!? Y-you're Frisk Dreemurr!? The monster ambassador!? No way! How did I not recognize you, oh my god!? I am so sorry, I didn't realize who you were!”

Frisk couldn't help but giggle a bit. “Hey, that's okay. I don't expect _everyone_ to know who I am.”

“Ugh, but I _should_ have known!” said Pat, slapping her own forehead in frustration. “Before I even moved here, my mom and I have been keeping up-to-date on monster-related news. You'd _think_ I'd remember what the kid who saved an entire civilization looked like!”

Frisk fought back a grin of amusement. “Aw, I'm not _that_ special. I'm just a kid like you, you know?”

Pat shook her head. “You're definitely not like me, Frisk. You freed an entire race of people from a centuries-old prison. You're a hero.”

“Who says you can't be a hero, too?” asked Frisk. “You can be anything you want to be if you're determined enough.”

“I don't know about that,” said Pat. “My mom told me that just because you want something bad enough, it doesn't always mean you'll get it, no matter how hard you try. So, as cool as being a hero would be... I'd rather be a bit more realistic in my goals.”

“Well, what _do_ you want to be, then?” asked Frisk.

“A rock star!” Pat declared, striking an epic pose. “I've been playing guitar since I was three years old! I took lessons from my grandpa, and then taught myself further by watching videos online! My mom says I'm really talented!”

“That's cool!” said Frisk with a nod. “I'd like to hear you play someday.”

“R-really!? You wanna hear me play!?” squealed Pat excitedly. “I'd love to play you some music, Frisk! My guitar and amplifier haven't been unpacked yet, but once they are, I'll come right over with them and play you a concert! Would you like that? Because I know I would!”

Frisk grinned. “Sure!”

Pat pumped her fist in the air. “Sweet! I can't wait!”

Frisk turned when they heard the front door open behind them. Toriel was standing in the doorway on the front porch, wearing an apron over a purple dress. “Frisk? Who are you talking to, dear? Have you made a new friend?” The boss monster came down the creaky steps, approached the fence and stood beside Frisk. No sooner did she do so that she froze and gasped quietly, mouth agape as she stared at Pat.

Frisk knew exactly what their mother was thinking. They had to defuse the situation before it became awkward. “Uh, Mom? This is Pat. She and her mom just moved to New New Home,” Frisk explained quickly.

“Uh, h-hi!” stuttered Pat. She looked nervous, perhaps thinking she had offended Frisk's mother somehow.

Toriel stared a few seconds longer before she inhaled deeply and took on a calmer expression. “Oh, I... I do apologize. Greetings, Pat. Forgive me, but you look so much like another human I used to know. For a moment, I thought was looking at a spirit!”

“Oh, is that all? Thank goodness,” said Pat. “I thought maybe I'd done something wrong.”

“Oh, no, not at all, my child!” Toriel assured her. “I was just a bit... surprised. That's all. So, you are living here with your mother?”

“Yes, ma'am!” Pat confirmed with a nod.

“Well, allow me to give you a warm welcome! I am Toriel, Frisk's mother,” said the boss monster.

“Pleased to meet you!” Pat chirped. “Say, aren't you the ex-queen of the monsters? You're so much prettier in person!”

Toriel blushed. “Oh! Why... thank you, my child! I do appreciate the compliment,” she said with a giggle. “And to answer your question... yes, I was queen once. However, I gave up my crown quite a long time ago. While I am still somewhat looked to as a leader... and though my former husband looks to me for advice now and then...” she added with a slight grimace, “I have the far more humble title of teacher now,” she ended with a smile.

“You're a teacher?”

“Yes! I started a school here in New New Home called Delta Rune Elementary. I assume you will be continuing your education there now that you live here, yes?”

“Uh-huh! That's what mom tells me,” said Pat. “I'm... I'm a bit nervous, though. I know monsters are supposed to be really nice – and you seem really nice too, Miss Toriel! – but I've never been in a school full of them before... I'll be an odd one out...” Pat cast her gaze downward. “Plus... my mom... she's very different from most other humans and...” Her voice trailed off.

Toriel opened the gate of the fence and stepped out in front of Pat. She knelt down before her and spoke in a kind, warm voice only an experienced mother would have. “Do not fret, my child. If it makes you feel any better, there are a few other humans your age at my school. You will not be an odd one out. I will admit, however, you will be a minority. But I will do everything in my power to make sure you feel welcome and included among the other children. I make sure of this for all the students that attend Delta Rune. So, worry not.”

“Thank you, Miss Toriel,” said Pat quietly, still looking down. “But...”

“But?” inquired Toriel patiently.

“... Like I said. My mom. She's... she's not like most other humans. She's different. At my old school, I got teased for it.”

“Oh? How is your mother different?” asked Toriel.

Frisk leaned forward on the fence, just as curious about Pat's answer.

“Mom... she has... um... Miss Toriel, do you know what autism is?” asked Pat.

Toriel nodded. “Indeed! I have a couple of human students who have it. I familiarized myself with it through much personal research, in an effort to make the learning environment more comfortable for them.”

“Oh, good. Well... my mom has autism, Miss Toriel,” Pat explained. “She's high-functioning, so she can hold a job and take care of us both just fine. But... the kids at my old school kept teasing me. They called my mom bad names, and they accused me of being autistic, too, as an insult. They think being autistic means you're stupid. B-but... my mom isn't stupid!” she insisted. “She's really smart! And she's super-nice!” Her voice cracked, and tears welled in her eyes. “Even some of the adults said bad things about my mom! She already has enough issues to deal with! She... she doesn't need...!”

Without any prompting, Toriel wrapped her arms around Pat and gently held her close. Pat returned the embrace automatically, gripping her tightly and sobbing into the boss monster's shoulder. “There, there, my child,” Toriel soothed her. “I promise you, I will personally see to it that your mother feels welcome here in New New Home. I know very well that having autism does not make a human stupid. One of my autistic students gets exceptional grades, and though the other has their share of difficulties, I know they too have areas of great expertise.” She stroked Pat's back as she continued. “I am so glad that you love and accept your mother the way she is, even with all that you have been through. You are a very strong child, Pat. I cannot begin to imagine how painful those experiences were for you.”

“I... I don't feel strong!” Pat wept. “Look at me, I'm crying! Big kids don't cry!” Frisk felt a twinge of discomfort when she said that.

“Well, of course they do!” said Toriel. “Do not be silly! Everyone cries sometimes, Pat. It does not matter how big or little you are. Even I cry sometimes! Right, Frisk?”

Frisk stepped closer and placed a hand on Pat's right shoulder. “Mom cries at Disney movies all the time. You should have seen her when we first watched Bambi together! She was like a water fountain.”

Toriel rolled her eyes playfully. “That is a bit of an exaggeration, Frisk, dear. But yes, I did cry quite a bit. I am not ashamed of my tears, and you should certainly not be ashamed of yours, Pat. Besides, we have only just met, and here you are crying openly in front of us. That takes a lot of bravery, to show your true emotions.”

Pat pulled away to look up at Toriel, her eyes still wet. “You... you think I'm brave? Really?”

Toriel nodded. “Absolutely.”

Pat wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her pink shirt. “Thank you, Miss Toriel... that makes me feel a little better.”

“I am very glad,” said Toriel with a smile. “Now then... how would you like to come inside for a little bit and have a drink? I know humans are mostly made of water, and you seem to have lost quite a bit of that just now.”

Pat chuckled a bit. “Yeah... I guess I did, huh? Sure, I can come inside for a while. Mom just wants me to be home before dark.”

“Wonderful!” said Toriel, standing back up. “Would you like water, juice, milk, or perhaps some lemonade? I just made the lemonade today, and it should be nice and chilled by now.”

“Homemade lemonade!?” cried Pat happily. “Oh my gosh, yes, please!”

Toriel laughed. “Very well, then! Come along, children!” She made her way past the gate and motioned for Pat and Frisk to follow her. The two children followed close behind, Frisk walking behind Pat as they reflected on what had just occurred. Pat did not seem anything like Chara personality-wise, but there was no mistaking the resemblance physically, especially now that Toriel confirmed it. Did Pat's mother look like Chara, too? Were they related to Chara?

Frisk was determined to find out.

 

* * *

 

 

Meanwhile, at 279 Wimsun Lane, there stood a two-story house previously owned by an elderly monster, who had sadly “fallen down” two months ago. The house itself was painted pink with white trim, and though small, it was just big enough for two people. Inside the house, unpacking countless boxes filled to the brim with various belongings, was Pat's mother, Emily.

“Oh god, this is going to take forever,” Emily moaned, pausing to wipe sweat from her brow.. “Ugh... I wonder if I should have made Pat stay and help me... or maybe I should have let Mom and Dad come over and help after all... Ah, who am I kidding?” she asked herself, flopping down on the living room couch. “It wouldn't have been right for Pat to stay cooped up all day. She was so excited about wanting to explore a city full of monsters. And I don't want Dad to hurt his back... and if Mom came over, Dad will definitely come over whether I want him to or not.”

Emily sighed. “I wish I could ask for help, but... I don't know anyone in this town... and I don't have friends to call for help... Hmm. Maybe I should just take a break for a while. I could use a drink.” She pulled herself to her feet and started to make her way towards the kitchen when the doorbell suddenly rang. Pat's mother panicked and ran towards the door. “Just a minute!” she called. “I'll be right there!”

“TAKE YOUR TIME!” a loud voice shouted back. Emily flinched. Why was this person shouting? Did her voice really sound that far away? Ah well, perhaps he'll stop once she opens the door.

Emily reached the door, opened it wide, and was surprised to see a very tall skeleton, wearing a strange costume, gloves, and scarf, and holding what looked like a gift basket. “Oh! Uh, hello!” she greeted him, giving a small wave of her hand.

The skeleton appeared to smile at Emily, though it was a little hard to tell since... well, he was a skeleton. “GREETINGS, NEW NEIGHBOR! I-- OH,” said the skeleton, noticing her cringe in pain. “ARE YOU ALRIGHT, MISS?”

“I'm f-fine,” Emily stuttered, rubbing her ears, “but could you please lower your voice a little? I'm sorry, my ears are just really sensitive to sound.” _'How can someone without vocal cords be so deafening?'_ she wondered.

“OH, I-- I am sorry, new neighbor,” said the skeleton, “I did not mean any harm. That is my usual tone of voice, but I will lower it for your convenience.”

“Th-thank you,” said Emily. “I'm so sorry... anyway, you were saying?”

“Let's see,” said the skeleton, “where was I...? Ah, yes! Greetings, new neighbor!” he said, starting over. “I am The Great Papyrus! Though you may simply call me Papyrus, if you wish. And this is my brother, Sans,” he said, gesturing behind him.

Another skeleton, shorter and wider than Papyrus, suddenly stepped forward. He was wearing what had to be the laziest outfit imaginable: a blue hoodie, a white t-shirt, gym shorts, and a pair of pink slippers. “heya,” he greeted in a deep voice. He had a big smile on his face, though something about it seemed off to Emily. However, she couldn't figure out why. Maybe he's just a skeleton and she should stop thinking about it? The strangest part about Sans, however, wasn't his smile: unlike Papyrus, he had two pinpricks of light in his eye sockets that served as pupils.

“Sans and I are part of the welcoming committee here in New New Home,” Papyrus explained. “So... welcome to the neighborhood!” He held out the gift basket. “We have assembled this gift basket for you as a housewarming present!”

Emily took the basket from Papyrus, only to nearly drop it because it was much heavier than it looked. “Oh, my goodness! This is... this is quite the gift! Thank you very much, this is so thoughtful!”

“You are most welcome!” said Papyrus with a grin. “I have included, among many other things, a container of homemade spaghetti. It is one of my many, many culinary masterpieces, so I do hope you enjoy it.”

“Th-thank you, I'm sure I will!” said Emily, placing the basket on the floor behind the door frame. She nearly dropped it again in the process, and laughed it off nervously.

Sans grinned up at her. “so, what's your name?”

The woman smiled nervously. “Uh, Emily. Emily Thyme.”

“Thyme?” echoed Papyrus. “Like the herb?”

Emily's eyes widened, and she nodded excitedly. “Yes! Exactly! Oh my god, you have no idea how many people have asked me to repeat my name for them because they think they misheard!”

Sans' eyes lit up, both in the figurative and literal sense. “your last name is thyme, huh? is your middle name, by any chance... _rosemary_?”

Emily stared at him for a second. Was... was that a pun? Was that a spice pun? Oh my god, that was actually funny! She clamped a hand over her mouth and started snickering with laughter.

Papyrus glared at his brother. “SANS, YOU PROMISED NO PUNS!”

“hey, no need to be _salty_ , papyrus. there's nothing wrong with _peppering_ a conversation with some humor.”

“SANS!”

Emily clutched her stomach and shook as she laughed even harder. She didn't even care that Papyrus was shouting again.

“what? it's no big _dill_ . it doesn't take a _sage_ to see she's enjoying my jokes. and really, it's not like you didn't see this _cumin_ , bro.”

“SANS, I SWEAR TO GOD!”

Emily uncovered her mouth and fully doubled over now, howling with laughter.

Sans grinned even wider. “I guess I couldn't _mustard_ up the willpower to not make a joke. I _camphor_ the life of me understand why you think I should stop when she clearly _cloves_ it, bro. I swear i'm not doing it just to _spice_ you.”

“CAMPHOR IS AN HERB, NOT A SPICE!”

“says-a-who?” asked Sans slyly.

“SAYS-A-ME!” yelled Papyrus. A second later, he somehow went googly-eyed when he realized Sans had tricked him. “OH FOR-- SANS!!”

Emily had sank to the bottom of the doorway by now, laughing so hard she was crying. “I can't breathe!” she shrieked.

“SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING, SANS? SHE'S SUFFOCATING! YOUR PUNS ARE GOING TO BE THE DEATH OF HER!”

“heh, I know I can knock any audience dead, but this is ridiculous.”

Emily continued wheezing with laughter as she held up a hand, signaling the two skeletons to stop talking. “I... I seriously c-can't breathe... please...! Need air...!” Emily took several deep breaths before rising unsteadily to her feet. She panted a few times before she spoke again. “Oh... oh my god, I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard! Thank you so much for that!”

“hey, no problemo,” said Sans. He winked his left eye. “making people laugh is sort of my shtick, so if you're gonna live in this city, consider that a preview of what you're gonna get daily.”

Emily raised an eyebrow. “Daily?” she echoed.

“SANS – um, sorry, Miss Thyme – Sans doesn't just work for the welcoming committee,” said Papyrus.“He has quite a few jobs all over the city, and he's lazy at all of them. One minute he's selling hot dogs, the next he's doing horrible stand-up at Mettaton's new resort. He can't work hard at one job, so he has to slack off at a different one.”

“Um... that doesn't... sound lazy at all,” said Emily slowly. “That just sounds like he's working at a lot of different places.” She noticed Sans tilt his skull at her, which made her somewhat nervous.

Papyrus sighed and shook his head in disapproval. “Clearly, Miss Thyme, you don't know my brother well enough. But, unfortunately, you will probably will soon. Somehow, he seems to know everyone around here. Not that knowing everyone is a bad thing,” he added quickly, “for you see, I too have a 'shtick' of sorts – I, the Great Papyrus, strive to be everyone's greatest friend! Which requires knowing absolutely everybody! You seem like a very nice human – even if you do encourage Sans' terrible jokes – so I sincerely hope I can be your greatest friend, too!”

Papyrus was strange, Emily thought. Strange, yet rather friendly, and somehow charismatic to boot. He didn't seem like he had a bad bone in his body (pun not intended). Maybe Emily was too trusting; it certainly wouldn't be the first time. Then again, part of the reason she'd moved to New New Home with Pat was because monsters, from what she understood, were genuinely nice people born and raised without malice. She and her daughter desperately needed that sort of positivity. Perhaps it would be in her best interest to start making friends in this town, even if her first one was a little on the wacky side.

“Um... sure! I could always use a new friend!” said Emily. “And... maybe my daughter would like to meet you as well? I'd introduce you now, but she's gone out exploring.”

“Oh, you are a mother!” exclaimed Papyrus. “Sans and I _thought_ we saw multiple beds being moved in! How many children do you have, Miss Thyme?”

“Please, just 'Emily' is fine. And my daughter is the only child I have. Her name is Patricia, but she prefers to be called 'Pat'.”

“Where is Pat's father?” asked Papyrus innocently.

Emily flinched, and she turned her gaze towards the wooden boards of the front porch. “I... I'd prefer not to talk about that, if that's alright with you. I will only say that we are no longer married, and it's definitely for the best.”

Papyrus looked guilty. “Oh... I... I am sorry. I did not mean to dredge up anything unpleasant.”

“It's okay, you didn't know.”

Sans gave a polite cough. “so, uh, how old's your daughter?”

Emily looked up again, smiling with relief. “Oh, she just turned ten last month!”

Papyrus smiled. “Oh, really!? My best friend, Frisk is turning ten in a few weeks!”

“Frisk? You mean, the ambassador, Frisk Dreemurr?”

Papyrus nodded. “Yes! I have a lot of best friends, of course, for I am very great. But Frisk is the best out of all the best friends I have. What a coincidence that they and your daughter are around the same age!”

“Y-yeah! Imagine if the two of them met. I think that would be amazing!”

“Perhaps Sans and I can ask Toriel about a playdate for them! We live with them, you know! I know Frisk gets a little nervous about other human children, though, which is the only problem I can foresee.”

“Oh, Frisk will be just fine with Pat! She's a total people person. She gets along with almost everyone!”

“She sounds like my kind of person! Um... would it really be alright for Pat to befriend The Great Papyrus?”

Emily giggled, starting to feel more comfortable. “Of course it's alright! You and your brother seem real nice. You can both be friends with Pat, if you'd like.”

“cool,” said Sans. “I really hope she gets along with frisk, though. the kid's pretty special to us.”

“I'm sure you'll have nothing to worry about. The only time my daughter doesn't get along with someone is if... um... well, let's just say she gets very defensive of me, sometimes.”

Perhaps Emily was seeing things, but Sans' smile seemed to falter ever-so-slightly. “define 'defensive'”.

Emily looked away again. “Well... both children and adults have said negative things about me in front of her. Or to her face. It always ended... badly. That's part of the reason we moved here. We've both had it rough lately, and I thought moving here would put us in a more positive state of mind. Besides, after my divorce, we've had to live with my parents because I couldn't make enough money, and I don't want to mooch off of them forever. So... here we are.”

Papyrus scratched his skull. “I don't understand-- what did people say about you that got Pat so upset?”

Emily sighed. “They said I was stupid... weird... freaky... it doesn't bother me, because I've heard it all before. But it definitely bothers Pat. And you know what they say: if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

Papyrus nodded in understanding. “At least you were not in as hot a kitchen as Undyne's old one underground. Her whole house burned down!”

This caught Emily off guard. “Pfft, what!?” she said with a laugh.

“I think what my bro's trying to say is,” Sans explained, “is that your situation could have been a lot worse.”

“Of course that is what I meant!” said Papyrus. “Was I not clear enough? At any rate, I am very glad you and your daughter are here, and not getting into altercations with those other humans. You deserve to be happy, and I have a very good feeling you will both be very happy here!”

Emily's face lit up, and for a moment her eyes stared directly into Papyrus' sockets... only for her to quickly away. “Th-thank you, Papyrus. That's very sweet of you to say so.”

“say, uh, emily... you got a job?” asked Sans.

Emily looked up at him with a start. “Um, yes! I'm gonna be working as a clerk at the bookstore downtown. I had the same job in my old town, but this one pays better, thank goodness! Or else Pat and I would be stuck living with her grandparents forever.”

“the bookstore? huh. well, as it just so happens, I sometimes work the register over there,” said Sans, “so I guess that makes us co-workers, huh?”

“Hey, yeah, I... I guess it does!” said Emily. “Wow, small world for such a big city, huh?” Wow, she really _was_ going to be seeing a lot of Sans. She really hoped this wouldn't be a bad thing.

“um, you okay there? not to be rude, but your eyes have been pretty shifty this whole conversation,” said Sans.

Emily could detect the tiniest bit of accusation in his otherwise casual tone and mentally cursed herself. “Oh... they have? Um... yeah, sorry about that. I have autism, so I have a lot of trouble looking at people in the eye sometimes. That, and I'm painfully shy as it is,” she explained, “so it doesn't help.”

There was a look of embarrassment in Sans' eyes. “you're autistic? oh, man... now I feel like a heel for asking. sorry about that. toriel told me that some of her human students have autism... I should have figured adult humans could get it, too.”

“Well, it's more like something we've grown up with, not just 'get',” explained Emily patiently. “Autism is a neurological disorder. That means our brains are physically different than that of a normal human's. It's not a sickness or disease. We don't know where autism stems from, but it usually shows itself at a very early age, and it always continues into adulthood.”

“I didn't know human brains could be different from each other!” said Papyrus. “I thought they all looked pink and squishy.”

Emily let out a laugh. “Well, they are. But I mean they're _shaped_ differently, to the point where they process thoughts differently than other brains.”

“is pat autistic?” asked Sans.

“No, thank goodness,” said Emily, shaking her head. “My school life was hell because of my autism. Up until my divorce, Pat's was so much better than mine. Part of the reason we moved is so that I can give her that happiness again.”

Sans hummed as he seemed to process this information. “well, I hope you get what you're looking for, lady. hey, papyrus,” he said, turning to his brother, “shouldn't we give our new neighbor the usual lesson about monsters? I think it's time.”

“Ooh, you're right!” said Papyrus. “Yes... Emily, I do believe it's THYME to teach you something valuable about monsters! Nyeh-heh-heh-heh! But only if you're up for it. I won't pressure you.”

“Um... okay? W-what do I have to do?”

“You and I are going to enter a FIGHT!” Papyrus explained.

Emily staggered backwards. “A... a fight?!”

“No, no, a FIGHT. All capitals,” said Papyrus. “Don't worry, I'm not going to punch you or anything. I am merely going to demonstrate how monsters express their emotions... through magic! You don't even need to FIGHT back. All you need to do is learn to ACT and show MERCY.”

“ACT? MERCY? I... I don't understand.”

“Well, perhaps it's better I demonstrate by example than merely explain it to you. I promise you'll be fine. I have excellent control over my magic, so this will all be one-hundred percent safe. What do you say? Ready to face The Great Papyrus?”

“Um... I guess so?”

“Excellent! Then step off the porch and let us begin! Nyeh-heh-heh!”

A strange sound echoed through the air, and Emily felt something emerge from her body. She looked down at herself, and was shocked to see a green heart floating in front of her chest. “Uh, Papyrus? What... what is that?”

“That, my dear Emily, is your SOUL. ”

“My... SOUL!?”

“Yes! The very part of you that makes you... well, _you!_ When a human is hit by a magic bullet, their SOUL takes damage, and their Hit Points – or HP for short – are reduced. But beware! If your HP reaches zero, then--! Well, let's just say you REALLY don't want that to happen. But! Fear not! HP is easy to restore-- just consume monster food! Here, I'll give you this! I made it myself.”

Papyrus took out a plate of spaghetti from... somewhere... and held it out to Emily. Emily warily reached out for the plate and took it, which seemed to trigger a strange internal monologue.

_*I received Papyrus' Spaghetti._

' _Huh... that was... weird,_ ' Emily thought. ' _Is that an aspect of FIGHTing?_ '

“Excuse me, are you paying attention?” Papyrus asked. “I said, monster food is made of magic, so it immediately converts into energy when you eat it! And your SOUL needs as much energy as possible to survive an attack! So be careful! Now then... when you enter a FIGHT with a monster, it is turn-based. Since I initiated the FIGHT, I will allow you to go first.”

Four rectangular objects appeared in front of Emily. Each one had a word written on it: the first one said FIGHT, the second said ACT, the third one said ITEM, and the last one said MERCY.

“Use the power of your SOUL to select an option. Might I recommend selecting ACT?” Papyrus suggested.

Emily concentrated, and much to her surprise, she was able to move her soul like a cursor among the four rectangles. Perhaps they were buttons? This was getting more and more interesting by the second! She settled her soul on ACT, and selected it. What could only be described as a menu opened up, covering the four buttons. Papyrus' name was listed there. She selected it, and a list of strange options before her:

*Check  
*Compliment  
*Empathize  
*Gifts  
*Puns

“Alright,” said Papyrus, “my next suggestion to you would be to Check. It will tell you my stats, as well as give you a description of my greatness.”

“Uh, alright...” Emily chose Check, and got a description of Papyrus.

PAPYRUS 20 ATK 20 DEF  
_*He thinks very highly of himself, but he seems to mean well._

“Nyeh-heh-heh! Very good!” Papyrus praised. “Now it's my turn. I am going to use a very simple magic attack against you. All you have to do is dodge it, and then it will be your turn.”

“What if I can't dodge? W-what if I get hurt?”

“Like I said, I have excellent control over my magic. The attack will be rather weak. You will be in no real danger, I promise. Besides, those two shirts you're wearing count as armor!”

Emily was indeed wearing two shirts; one was black with long sleeves, and the other was a blue t-shirt worn over that. “Um... Papyrus? I'd say I'm not wearing particularly good armor.”

“Nonsense! Frisk was wearing a bandanna as armor when they first met me, and they held up very well! Now, less talk, and more dodging! Ready? Here comes my first attack!”

Emily watched as a small while bone popped up out of nowhere and slowly moved towards her. When it showed no signs of changing direction, Emily stepped out of the bone's path and waited for it to pass. It did so, and it disappeared into thin air.

“Bravo! That was superb, Emily! Now, it's your turn again. I'll let you figure out what to do next on your own.”

The four buttons appeared again. Emily chose ACT again, and carefully considered the options before her. Papyrus thought highly of himself... maybe a compliment would be a good first step?

_*I tell Papyrus his costume looks really cool._

“Oh! Thank you so much! But this is no ordinary costume! This is my battle body! I wear it all the time. It makes me feel cool and heroic. And, since I'm the unofficial mascot of monster-kind, it makes me instantly recognizable!” Papyrus grinned. “Alright, here is my next attack!”

Papyrus sent out two bones this time, but these were taller and a bit faster than the previous bone. Fortunately, Emily was able to dodge them with ease, and her confidence began to boost.

“Wonderful! Your turn!”

_*I ask Papyrus what's in the gift basket he gave me._

“The basket? Well, I wanted you to find out for yourself! But you already know that some of my spaghetti is in there... alright. There's some fruit, a complimentary t-shirt, a gold bone – from my personal collection, no less! – and a tin of golden flower tea. I highly recommend the tea. It's King Asgore's favorite! Oh, and there's also a die-cast metal figurine of my favorite celebrity, Mettaton! Okay, here comes my next attack. Brace yourself!”

Three bones, each one taller than the next, made a beeline for Emily. She dodged expertly.

_*I tell Papyrus he has good taste in gifts._

“Nyeh-heh-heh-heh! Thank you! The New New Home welcoming committee pays for gift baskets out of their own pockets, as well as through donations. I choose to pay out of pocket, so I can make extra-special baskets for our new human residents!”

Four bones, this time from above. Emily ducked just in the nick of time before she got hit. When Papyrus' turn ended, she stood back up, cracked her back, and chose to compliment him again.

_*I tell Papyrus how selfless and sweet he is._

Papyrus blushed and smiled. “Wowie! So many compliments! You must really like me! Or are you just trying to butter me up so you can use MERCY to spare me? Either way, I'm loving it!”

Suddenly, Papyrus sent out a faster attack than before, a volley of three bones above Emily's head that moved up and down. Emily shrieked in surprise before quickly ducking to the ground. “Uh, Papyrus!? How do I know when I can 'spare' you!?”

“If you select ACT, and my name is in yellow, then you can select MERCY, and then spare me,” explained Papyrus.

Emily shakily stood up and chose ACT. Unfortunately, Papyrus' name was in white. She groaned in frustration. “It's not yellow yet...”

“Of course not! My bones still rattle with the need to battle! I predict you need two more turns before you can spare me!”

“Two? I'm not sure if I'll even survive _one_ more turn! That last one was really close!”

“Oh, pish-posh! I believe in you, Emily! You can win! You just need to try. Don't give up yet!”

Emily took a deep breath and chose ACT again.

_*I ask Papyrus why he hates puns so much._

“What? I don't hate puns!” said Papyrus. “I just greatly dislike _my brother's_ puns! I make far superior puns than he does. His are just lazy or annoying. Mine are cleverly and expertly constructed like the puzzles I made in the Underground. I enjoy my puns, and I enjoy my friends' puns, but Sans' puns are by far the worst.”

Sans slipped in beside Papyrus with a cheeky grin. “if you don't like my puns, why do you smile every time I tell you one of them?”

“I wasn't smiling before with those spice puns from earlier!”

“yeah, you were. or at least, you were fighting not to.”

“SANS! I AM TRYING TO CONDUCT A LESSON HERE!! GO AWAY!!!”

“okay. sorry, bro. hey, emily, good luck,” said Sans with a wink before sliding out of view again.

“Um... thanks?” said Emily, feeling herself sweat. She didn't know why, but something told her this battle was about to get even harder.

“Ugh... here comes my next attack,” Papyrus grumped. He sent out several bones this time, from below and above, moving up and down, speeding towards Emily faster than his previous attacks.

Emily shrieked in panic and desperately tried to dodge Papyrus's assault, moving left and right, ducking and even jumping over the bones. She did rather well until the very last bone, which she couldn't avoid in time. It hit her soul dead-on, and she felt a mild pain wrack her entire being, like nothing she had ever experienced before. The wind was knocked out of her, so she couldn't even yell in pain. She looked down at her soul. It was flickering like a flame on a candle. Oh... oh crap. She was dying, aren't she? Her soul was fading away, wasn't it!? Oh god, no, no, not like this!

“Oh, Emily, I'm so sorry! That was too harsh an attack! I think my frustration with my brother triggered it. I promise I'll tone it down for my next turn.”

Emily wheezed and pointed at her soul.

“Hmm? Oh! Don't worry, you're fine! Toriel tells me that's normal for humans who get attacked with magic; their souls temporarily become invincible as a defense mechanism. You'll go back to normal in a few seconds.”

Emily looked down at her soul and watched carefully. Sure enough, the flickering stopped, and her soul became a solid green again. Finding herself able to breathe again, Emily gave a deep sigh of relief. “Thank goodness... I thought I was going to die.”

“I would never allow such a thing to happen!” Papyrus declared. “Like I said, I have great control over my magic – uh, normally,” he added with a blush. “Like I promised, you are in no real danger. Even if Sans likes stirring the pot,” he added, shooting his brother a dirty look.

Sans shrugged from afar. “I said I was sorry, bro.”

Emily dusted herself off and glanced at the menu before her. “So, um... I think it says here I have 28 HP out of 30? That's not bad, is it?”

“Oh, not at all! That's actually rather good! Your armor is doing wonders for you!” said Papyrus. “Okay, I believe it's your turn now. Make your next move a good one! I'm ready!”

Emily checked her ACT options again. There was only one left she didn't use: “Empathize”. But how could she use that one? Maybe now wasn't the time. But what could she do--? Wait... the gift basket!

_*I ask Papyrus about the Mettaton figurine from the gift basket._

“It's a super-cool display figure!” Papyrus proclaimed. “Limited edition, and not easy to get my hands on. But like I said, I like making my welcome baskets extra-special! And like Mettaton always says, what home is complete without MTT-brand merchandise? Nyeh-heh-heh!”

Emily braced herself for Papyrus' next attack. Seeing this, Papyrus gave a nod. “Here is a much gentler, yet cooler attack that I'm sure you'll be able to handle better!”

A bone appeared, but this one was far different from the others. It was wearing a pair of sunglasses and a hat while riding a skateboard, rolling right towards Emily. Emily almost forgot to dodge because she burst out laughing at how bizarre it was. She barely managed to leap out of the way, falling to the ground with a thud... only to laugh even more.

“Uh... are you alright? Perhaps that other attack left you discombobulated?” asked Papyrus.

“N-no, I'm... I'm fine, I'm fine!” said Emily, rising to her feet. “Okay, my turn!” And this will be the last one for sure, she thought to herself.

* _I tell Papyrus that Pat is a huge fan of Mettaton, and that I can understand the hype over him._

Papyrus gasped. “Really!? Your daughter likes Mettaton, too!? Wowie! Now I know we're destined to be good friends! Oh, she is going to love that figurine, I know she will! Ooh, do you like Mettaton, too?” he asked Emily.

“Well... I like his hair. And his legs. And his singing voice is actually really impressive. So... yeah, I like him. I'm not a super-fan, but I like him.”

Emily wasn't sure how, but the insides of Papyrus' sockets sparkled with joy. “Double wowie! I'm so glad you and your daughter moved here! We're going to be the best of friends! I can't wait to bond with the two of you over my favorite s-- erm, my favorite rectangle!”

Emily laughed. “I can't wait either, Papyrus.”

“Wonderful! Alright, Emily, choose ACT, and check my name.”

Emily did so. Papyrus' name was yellow! She gave a little cheer and bounced in excitement. “I won!”

“Yes, you did!” said Papyrus proudly. “Now, just choose MERCY, then Spare.”

Emily willed her soul to the MERCY button, selected it, and saw two options: “Spare”, and “Run away”. Taking careful note of the latter option, she chose the former, and her soul disappeared back into her body, ending the FIGHT.

“That was marvelous, Emily!” said Papyrus. “Congratulations! You've won your first FIGHT! And you didn't even have to do a violence to win!”

“That was pretty cool!” Emily admitted with a grin. “But... Papyrus? You said that was supposed to teach me something about monsters. What was I supposed to have learned, exactly? Maybe I'm just stupid, but if there was a lesson, it flew over my head.”

Papyrus nodded sagely. “The lesson was simple, my dear Emily... that if you somehow get into a FIGHT with a monster – not that it should ever happen, as we are very nice people – it is entirely possible to win by simply talking to them and not hurting them back. Because even a monster as strong and amazing as I am can be seriously hurt or killed very easily under the right circumstances. Or _wrong_ circumstances, depending on how you look at it.”

Emily's eyes widened. “Oh... oh! I... I didn't know that. I thought that with all your magic, you monsters would be a lot more powerful than humans.”

“actually,” Sans spoke up, “humans in general are much stronger than any monster. you humans are mostly made of water, so you have more physical substance than we do. and your souls are very powerful, able to change fate or defy death itself. monsters are only made of magic and dust. their souls disappear along with their bodies the moment they die... well, aside from boss monsters like toriel or asgore, but even then, their souls only last for a few seconds after death. in other words, what my bro and I are trying to teach you is this: when you're dealing with a monster, fighting isn't necessary. just dodge, ACT, and show MERCY. and if you need to, use an ITEM, like that spaghetti. got it?”

Emily nodded slowly. “Okay, got it. But... you say monsters don't usually FIGHT, right? And I think you can tell I wouldn't attack a monster. Why give me a... battle tutorial, for lack of a better term?”

Papyrus smiled nervously. “Well, um... there have been a few incidents here and there where humans started FIGHTs with monsters... fortunately, nothing serious ever came of those. It's... it's not that we don't trust you. You are very great! But we want to help make sure our city remains safe. Think of that tutorial as an interactive public service announcement of sorts!”

“there's also another important reason,” said Sans solemnly.

“Oh? What is it, Sans? I am unaware of any further reasons,” said Papyrus, bemused.

“well, papyrus, it's just that if emily's daughter has a tendency to get 'defensive', and she does so with a monster...” Sans allowed his sentence to trail off as he glanced at Emily, to allow the message to sink in.

Emily understood almost immediately, and when she did, her pupils contracted into pinpricks and she spoke in a hoarse whisper. “Oh, _heck_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY CRAP, I finally finished the first chapter of the re-write! You have no idea how long this took on and off! My worst problem with this, aside from health issues, is that while my writing mojo had been flowing quite a bit in the previous version of Descentale (up until Chapter 3, anyway), I couldn't find my groove here because I kept second-guessing myself and tried to pre-plan everything down to the letter.
> 
> Do not pre-plan everything to the letter when you're writing a story, guys. Restricting yourself is typically a horrible idea when it comes to creating something. You will drive yourself crazy-go-nuts.
> 
> Also... CLIFFHANGER! Mwahaha! Don't worry, Chapter 2 is coming. Not sure when, but it's coming. I just have to decide what's going to happen when Emily catches up with Pat. Hang tight, guys.


	3. A Series of Shocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk plays detective, and Papyrus gets grounded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, I am SO sorry for how long this took to write and publish! Not only am I very easily distracted by just about everything, I've had some IRL drama going on that's been keeping my creative juices from flowing. I hope eighteen pages is enough to suffice for this chapter. Also, I took the opportunity to give the previous chapter a slight re-write, to fix some rather bad mistakes. I advise you read the revised previous chapter before you peruse this one. Thank you all for your patience.
> 
> Remember, if you have any questions - such as when Asgore is going to show up - please, shoot me a comment! Or you can go to the official blog for this fanfic (descentale.tumblr.com) and shoot me an ask! Also, don't forget to visit the fan blog run by Mod EmPaThy at (the-descentale-fanblog.tumblr.com)! They haven't updated in ages, but that's likely because I haven't either. Hopefully they're not too sore at me for taking so damn long.
> 
> And with all that out of the way, onto the chapter (FINALLY)!

Despite Frisk's curiosity about Pat, they knew that there was a chance it was only a coincidence she looked so much like Chara. They knew there were plenty of humans who looked alike. Some monsters looked alike, too, like Froggits. Frisk always had a hard time telling any of them apart (well, except for the ant-sized one). Still, if it all really was a coincidence, it was quite a big one. But... it still couldn't hurt to find out more about Pat's family, right?

Frisk and Pat were sitting in the dining room together, waiting for Toriel to serve them their lemonade. Frisk had remained silent as they considered what first step to take in their impromptu investigation. However, their thoughts were interrupted by Pat clearing her throat nervously. “Uh... so... nice house you've got?” she said.

“Oh, um, thank you,” said Frisk. “Uh... is your house nice, too?”

“Yeah. It's kind of small, but cozy. It's not bad,” said Pat with a shrug.

“What's your address? What street do you live on?”

“Um... I think it's 279 Whimsun Lane. I have the address on my phone.”

“Whimsun Lane? Oh, two of my friends live there! Actually, they live right next door to you, at 281 on Whimsun!”

“Yeah? Who are they?” asked Pat.

“Their names are Alphys and Undyne. They're fiancées.”

“Ooh, cool! When are they getting married?”

“Next spring, during cherry blossom season.”

Pat wrinkled her nose. “Cherry blossoms? Oh, no... are they anime nerds?”

Frisk giggled. “Yeah, they are!”

Pat rolled her eyes. “That figures... I bet they're gonna play Simple and Clean at the ceremony.”

Frisk laughed. “Actually, yes, they are!”

Pat slapped her forehead. “Oh my god! I was only joking! Unbelievable.”

“They're really cool, though,” Frisk insisted. “Undyne is this super-tough fighter with a lot of spirit! And Alphys is a genius inventor who can build a jetpack into a cell phone! Oh, AND she built Mettaton's body.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute!” cried Pat. “Did you just say Mettaton? As in, the-most-amazing-robot-to-ever-grace-this-earth Mettaton!?”

Frisk smiled and nodded. “Yeah! I'm actually friends with him, too.”

“WHAT!? YOU'RE FRIENDS WITH METTATON!?” Pat shrieked. “No way, get out of town!”

Frisk giggled. “No, really!”

Pat let out an excited squeal and bounced in her seat. “Oh my god, don't even get me _started_ on Mettaton! I am such a huge fan of his, you don't even know! His voice, his fashion sense, his utter fabulousness, his EX body... _those LEGS_!” she cried, gesturing up and down her own leg. “I want legs like those! I want to grow up to be just like Mettaton! I have a TON of his band's merchandise, you know. In fact, the only thing I'm pretty sure I don't have is this one limited edition die-cast metal figurine of his rectangle body. I have one of his EX body already, and I love it to bits, but you're simply NOT a true Mettaton fan if you don't show appreciation for every form of him, you know?”

“You really love him, huh?”

“Uh, duh! YES! I would do anything within reason to meet him! Or at least get his autograph. Actually... you wanna know a secret?”

Frisk nodded. “Sure.”

Pat leaned forward and lowered her voice, but not quite low enough for her words to really be a secret. “As much as I want to make it big as a rock star in a solo career, it's my biggest dream to be a part of Mettaton's band... even if it's just for one tour, one album, one concert, one _song_ , I don't care! I just want to be able to look back on my life, remember doing something as cool as that, and say to myself, 'yes, my life was definitely worth living, because I got to do _that_ '.”

Frisk frowned. “But... don't you think your life is worth living _now_?”

Pat opened her mouth to say something, but then stopped herself. She thought for a moment, then said, “I gotta be honest, Frisk... my life hasn't been very happy lately. My dad left me and my mom over a year ago, and I'm probably never going to see him again. And kids were getting worse and worse about picking on me, up until the move happened. And... even though my old city is right nearby, and I can still see my friends and my grandparents... I miss it. I know Mom wanted to move because she wanted a fresh start for us. But it's all a lot for me to take. All I have to look forward to is the future, because – and please pardon my French – the present _sucks_.”

Frisk patted her shoulder. “Pat, I promise, you're going to love it here in New New Home. The monsters here are really nice, and it's very easy to make friends with them. I know it seems like life stinks right now, but give it some time. The present won't be so bad for long. But if you really want something to look forward to, my birthday is coming up in two weeks, and Mettaton _did_ promise he'd make it to my party...”

Pat gasped. “Oh... oh my god! Please tell me you'll invite me. Please tell me I can meet him!” she cried, clasping her hands together. “Please, _please_ tell me you'll set that up for me!”

Frisk chuckled. “Of course you're invited! I want you to meet all my friends! And of course you can meet Mettaton, if I can pry him away from everyone else. He loves attention, you know.”

Pat squealed again and leaped out her seat, wrapping her arms around Frisk in a tight hug. “Oh, thank you, Frisk, thank you, thank you! You are so awesome, oh my god!”

Frisk laughed and hugged her back. “You're very welcome. Say, you know who you'd get along with?”

 

Pat let go of Frisk. “Who?”

“My friend, Papyrus. He and his brother, Sans, live with me and Mom. He's a really big fan of Mettaton, too! Maybe he can show you some of his MTT-brand merchandise from back in the Underground.”

“Cool! So, Papyrus is a monster? What kind is he?”

“He's a skeleton. He's the coolest guy I know! I actually had a bit of a crush on him for a while,” Frisk admitted with a blush.

Pat did a double-take. “Wait, what? You had a crush on a monster?”

“Well, yeah! They're people, too, you know.”

“I know, I know, it's just... well... how does he feel about you?”

“Papyrus would rather just be my friend instead of my boyfriend. But that's okay, because he's the greatest friend you can ever make! You'll love him! Like I said, he's super-cool.”

“I can't wait to meet him, then! Maybe if I meet him for myself, I'll understand why you had a thing for him,” said Pat with a shrug. “I dunno, I've just never heard of a human being in love with a monster... unless you count fairy tales, I guess? But I guess those don't count, huh?”

“Well, Pat,” said Toriel, entering the room with a tray in her hands, “even fairy tales are based in some sort of reality. I have been alive for a very long time, and I can confirm that there have been cases of monsters and humans in romantic relationships with each other.”

“Really!?” cried Pat, staring up at her. “That's crazy! How does that even work!? I mean... I know monsters are people, too, but... can they...? do they...? I mean...? Um...?”

Toriel gave her a knowing look. “You want to know if monsters and humans can have babies together?”

Pat blushed bright red. “Um... yes? I know, I'm sorry, that's such a weird question to ask! I'm so sorry!”

Toriel laughed. “Oh, Pat, my dear child! Do you not think I am unfamiliar with discussions of this sort? I have had many children under my wing in the past, all of various ages. At one point or another, they have asked me this question. And as to the answer... no, they cannot. At least, not under normal circumstances,” she said, placing the tray on the table. On the tray was a large glass pitcher of lemonade, as well as two full glasses of lemonade on ice. “Here you are, children! Ice-cold lemonade, fresh from the refrigerator. Enjoy!”

“Thank you, Miss Toriel!” said Pat, taking her glass. She was already in mid-sip when Frisk took their glass and thanked their mother.

“You're welcome, my child. You two enjoy! I will be right back.” She turned and disappeared through the kitchen door.

Now that they were alone with Pat, Frisk decided to finally start their investigation before there were any more distractions. “So, uh... Pat? Are you and your mom living alone?” Frisk asked.

Pat finished a gulp of lemonade and let out a sigh of satisfaction. “Mmm, delicious! Oh, uh, yeah. It's just me and Mom.”

“No brothers or sisters?”

“No, just me,” said Pat. “I would love to be a big sister, though! Or for my aunts to give me a little cousin to play with, but I know neither of those things are going to happen anytime soon.”

“You have aunts?”

“Yeah! Aunt Liz is my mom's youngest sister. She's an actress. She's actually in Los Angeles right now doing some small-time work. I keep begging her to get married and have a baby, but she says she doesn't want to ruin her career before it even gets started. What is that even supposed to mean, anyway!?” cried Pat, throwing her arms in the air in frustration. “I've read stories about actresses who adopted six kids and were still super-successful. I love my aunt, but she is so full of it! And then there's my aunt Mia, my mom's other sister. She's only two years younger than Mom, but she's never dated or married anyone. She works full-time as a free-lance artist. I gave up a long time ago trying to get her to have kids... she's really socially awkward, so she's not great at meeting people.”

“Any other aunts or uncles?” asked Frisk.

Pat shook her head. “Nah.”

“Okay... what are your grandparents like?”

“Well, let's see... my grandpa's name is Harold. He used to be a corrections officer. Um, that's a fancy way of saying he was a prison guard,” Pat added, noting the look of confusion on Frisk's face. “He's retired now. My grandma's name is Francine, or Fran for short. She used to be a waitress. Grandpa actually met Grandma at the diner where she worked. They really love each other!”

“And they're your mom's parents?”

“Yup!”

“Are your dad's parents still alive?”

“No. None of my dad's relatives are alive anymore. They all died before my parents even met.”

“Oh... sorry to hear that...”

“That's okay. I didn't even know them, anyway.”

“Right... so, what does your mom do?”

“You mean for a job? My mom used to work as a clerk in a book store in Ebott City, where we used to live. But it didn't make her a lot of money, so when Dad left, we had to move in with Grandma and Grandpa, and they took care of us. Now that we're living here, where it's cheaper, she's going to have the same job at the book store here in New New Home.”

“You mean New New Books? I love that place!” said Frisk with a grin. “Mom and I love looking for books to take home whenever we go there. She likes ones that are educational, and I like adventure stories!”

“I'm not much of a bookworm myself,” said Pat, “but my mom really loves poetry books. She reads them in her spare time. She even writes her own poems sometimes. She has notebooks _full_ of them! I swear, when we moved, they must have taken up three boxes!”

“Sounds like she's really devoted to her hobby!” giggled Frisk. “Is she a good poet?”

“Um... not exactly,” Pat admitted with a shrug. “But at least she tries. And she has fun doing it, and it doesn't hurt anybody, so who am I to judge, right? Personally, I think she's better at singing, but she's really self-conscious and shy about that.”

“Has she ever sung for you?” asked Frisk.

“Yeah, sometimes we do little duets for fun,” said Pat. “But only if there's no one else around. It's actually super-weird... when she was a kid, she would sing all the time in school. Like, glee clubs and plays and stuff. But as she got older, she just sort of... stopped. At least, that's what Grandma and Grandpa told me.”

Frisk frowned and nodded. They could sort of relate to Pat's mom in this case; Frisk was very capable of singing, but they didn't usually like doing it in front of anyone, even Toriel. The few times their mother caught Frisk singing, she had showered them with praise, claiming they “sang like an angel”. But Frisk was always, always embarrassed by this. Talking with more than one person in the room was enough of a challenge as it was. “I'm kind of shy about singing, too. I'd love to hear your mom sometime, though... that is, if she's ever up for it. It's okay if she isn't, though.”

“I'll see if I can convince her to do a song with me,” said Pat decisively. “Maybe even for your birthday! I always did wonder what would happen if we combined my music with her vocals...”

Frisk realized they were getting off-track, so they quickly – yet carefully – changed the subject. “Um, Pat? I know you probably don't want to talk about your dad, but... what was he like?” When Pat frowned at them, Frisk added quickly, “It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. I'll understand--”

“No, no, it's fine,” Pat assured them. “You're just curious, right?”

“Yeah,” said Frisk. “Just... just curious.”

Pat nodded. “Okay... my dad was a scientist. He worked at this really big company called The Eden Corporation, or Eden Corp. for short. He did a lot of important research, though I'm not sure what he was researching exactly. He told me a long time ago that, when he was in college, he was studying quantum mechanics and theoretical physics, and Eden Corp. took a big interest in him.”

Frisk raised an eyebrow. “Quantum mechanics? Theoretical physics? What are those?” Frisk had seen Sans' quantum _physics_ books, but had never really asked him about them or the subject.

Pat shook her head. “Dad explained them to me a few times, but I still don't quite understand them. Quantum mechanics... I think it has something to do with particles and atoms? And theoretical physics is... um... using math to explain things that aren't explainable yet? Something like that.”

“Sounds complicated,” said Frisk, taking a sip of their lemonade.

“Yeah. It's a bit much for me,” said Pat. “But there _was_ something cool about Dad's interest in that stuff: he was _really_ into the idea of time travel.”

Frisk nearly spat out their lemonade. They painfully swallowed it down, however, and gave Pat what they hoped was an inquisitive look, rather than a worried one. “T-time travel, huh?”

Pat nodded excitedly. “Yeah! Dad had this theory, right? That there are specific places in our world where time runs differently than in the rest of the world. These places are like... in their own bubble, because of some unknown power. And that power is so strong that it cuts off a piece of our world's timeline and causes a new parallel one to form. It's like... like cutting off the top of a pineapple and replanting it to grow on its own,” Pat explained.

“Oh, uh, that sounds interesting!” said Frisk, trying desperately to hide their discomfort. After their adventures underground, they were pretty much through with time travel. Their ability to SAVE and LOAD, according to Sans, made them a time traveler, and while that _sounded_ exciting, it was somewhat disturbing to see the same events, with the same people, saying the same things, over and over again, every time they cheated death. It was like the world was following a script, like nothing was real. And Frisk wanted nothing more to do with it.

Thankfully, Frisk had not been able to “time travel” since leaving the Underground. They figured it was because, now that they were above ground, they had to compete with humans who had far more determination than they did. And that was just fine with Frisk. Their old powers had their usefulness, but Frisk was more than happy to be just an ordinary kid again.

“Frisk? Are you okay?” Pat asked, jostling Frisk from their thoughts. “You're spacing out a bit there.”

“O-Oh! I'm fine!” said Frisk reassuringly. “Um... so, was your dad nice?”

Pat sighed. “Yeah, he was nice... once. He used to be the best dad ever. He'd play with me, watch movies with me, help me with my homework, and listen to my music. And he and my mom were super-in-love, too. But just before he left us, he... he just sort of... stopped caring about us. I don't know why. And when he left... well... we have no idea where he went. He sent Mom divorce papers, and that was the last we'd heard of him.”

Pangs of sympathy ached Frisk's heart. “That's awful... I'm so sorry. You really don't know where he is?”

“No. He may as well have poofed out of existence.”

It was at this point Frisk realized they had driven this conversation to a dead end. They wanted to ask Pat if her grandparents had family somewhere, but that would be a weird thing to bring up right now. So, though they were strongly reluctant, Frisk decided to put their investigation on hold for the time being. “I see. I'm really sorry you've gone through so much, Pat. I wish there was something I could do.”

Pat gave a sad smile. “Thanks, Frisk. You know, we barely know each other, but... you seem like a really cool person. I hope we can be great friends.”

Frisk smiled back. “Me too,” they replied sincerely.

Pat looked over her shoulder at the kitchen door. “Hey... what's taking your mom so long? She said she'd be right back. It's been over five minutes.”

Frisk realized Pat was right. They knew instantly that Toriel was up to something. “I'll go check on her,” they told Pat, standing up from their chair. “Maybe she's cutting us some pie.”

“Ooh, I love pie!” squealed Pat. “I hope that's what it is!”

Frisk made their way to the kitchen door, but no sooner did they open it just a crack that they saw Toriel talking to someone on her smartphone. Curious, Frisk waited and listened in on the conversation, watching Toriel pace around the room as she spoke.

“... Yes, I know how unbelievable it sounds, but I promise you I am telling the truth,” Toriel was saying, trying to keep her voice down. After listening to the other caller's response, the motherly monster's tone became insistent. “I am telling you, Asgore, this child looks almost exactly like Chara! Same skin, same hair, same eyes... they even have the same haircut!” Another pause, followed by Toriel sighing with frustration. “Yes, I know Frisk has a similar haircut. That is not the point! Asgore, what if... what if this child is related to our Chara?”

Frisk felt themselves sweat. So, Toriel was just as curious about this whole thing as they were. This was very worrying, though Frisk couldn't pinpoint why exactly. The thought of Asgore and Toriel finding Chara's old human family just seemed... wrong. It felt like something that absolutely should not happen. Like it would disturb Chara's spirit somehow, and who knew what would come of that? Frisk wanted to believe this was an irrational fear, but if monsters, magic, and time travel were real, then absolutely anything was possible.

Without thinking twice, Frisk opened the door wide, calling to their mother. Toriel looked down at them with a start. She covered her phone with a large hand, trying – and failing – to appear normal. “Ah, just one moment, Frisk, dear.” She turned her back to them and continued speaking into the phone. “I apologize, Asgore. I do hate to cut and run, but I am afraid I have to attend to the children. You do understand, do you not?” A short pause later, she continued, “Ah, good. We shall talk more about this later, yes?” Another pause. “Good, good. Alright, goodbye for now.” Toriel hung up the phone with a beep before turning back to Frisk. “I apologize, Frisk. Was there something you needed, dear?”

“Um... Pat and I were just wondering why you were taking so long to come back. You said you'd be right back, but you were taking a while.”

Toriel playfully rolled her eyes. “It has only been five minutes, Frisk, dear. Then again, if my long experience with children has taught me anything, five minutes might as well be five years.”

“You were talking to Dad, right?” asked Frisk. They saw Toriel cringe slightly, which they'd grown used to by now; Toriel didn't like the fact that Frisk thought of Asgore as a parent, as much as things between the two boss monsters were slowly patching up.

“Y-yes,” Toriel replied with some difficulty. “We... were just talking about... pie recipes! You know how Asgore always forgets to add cinnamon when he makes butterscotch pie for himself, right?”

Frisk nodded slowly. “Right... um, speaking of pie, do we still have any?”

Toriel averted her eyes and blushed. “Oh... sorry, dear. I am afraid not. I ate the last slice last night. Ah... why do you ask? You had lunch an hour ago. Are you still hungry? Or are you asking for Pat?”

“Well, Pat was wondering why you were taking so long, and I suggested that maybe you were cutting some pie for us.”

Toriel frowned. “Oh, the poor dear... now I wish I had not eaten that last piece. I would have been more than happy to give her some. Hmm... why not go ask her if she has had lunch yet? Perhaps I can whip up a nice treat for the both of you to go with that lemonade.”

Frisk grinned. “That'd be great! Thanks, Mom!”

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Emily was freaking out as she dug through her purse in her living room, Sans and Papyrus watching her with calmness and concern, respectively.

“Oh, come on, where is my phone!?” cried Emily. “Why does my bag have to be so big and full of things I don't need!?”

“I know this is an emergency, but panicking isn't gonna help us find your kid any faster,” said Sans.

“I hate to admit it, but Sans is right, Emily!” said Papyrus. “Just take it easy. Hmm... why not take everything out of the bag and find your phone that way?”

“better yet, just dump everything onto the couch,” advised Sans.

“Sans, that's so messy!” admonished Papyrus, but it was too late, as Emily was already taking Sans' advice. Tissues, breath mints, ibuprofen, hand sanitizer, a nail file, a makeup mirror, and many other objects fell onto the couch cushions. Emily's smartphone was the last thing to fall out, right on top of the pile.

“Finally!” cried Emily. She picked the phone up and immediately speed-dialed Pat's number. As the phone started ringing, Emily bounced in place with impatience and discomfort. “Come on, come on!”

After ringing four times, someone finally picked up. “Hello? Mom?”

“Oh, Pat, thank god!” cried Emily. “Where are you right now? You haven't gotten into any fights, have you? Please tell me you're okay!”

“What? Mom, I'm okay, relax! I'm at Frisk Dreemurr's house. I'm drinking lemonade with them.”

“You haven't fought anybody? You didn't kill anyone, did you?”

“WHAT!? Mom, why and HOW would I kill anyone!? And no, I haven't gotten into a fight. What is up with you!? You're worrying me!”

Emily took a deep, soothing breath. “I'm sorry, sweetie, I... listen, could you just stay where you are? I'm coming over.”

“Uh, okay... do you even know how to get here? Do you want me to put Frisk's mom on the phone?”

Emily eyed Sans and Papyrus. “Actually, I'm with a pair of monsters who claim to live with Frisk and Toriel, so... I think I'm good on directions?” Sans nodded, and Papyrus gave a hearty thumbs up. A wave of pure relief swept through Emily's body.

“Okay, Mom... look, I don't know what has you so spooked, but you really freaked me out just now,” said Pat.

“I'm sorry about that, honey. I'll explain everything once I get there. Just wait, okay?”

“Okay, Mom. Bye!”

“Bye,” said Emily, and she hung up. She turned to Sans and Papyrus. “You said you guys live with Frisk, right? So Pat's at your place.”

Sans nodded. “right. papyrus will take you there in his convertible, right, bro?”

“Absolutely!” said Papyrus. “You're very lucky, Emily. You're going to be cruising with the coolest dude in the city! Nyeh-heh-heh!”

“But, what about Sans?” asked Emily. “Isn't he coming with us?”

“Sans is banned from riding in my super-cool car,” said Papyrus. “He always tells horrible jokes during long rides!”

“besides,” said Sans, “I have my own set of shortcuts to get me where I want to go. so, don't worry.” He winked his right eye. “I'll probably get home before you two do.”

There was a glint in one of Papyrus' sockets. “Is that a challenge, brother? Are we to _race_ each other home?”

Sans shrugged. “yeah, sure, why not?”

“CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!” shouted Papyrus. He grabbed Emily by the arm – making her yelp in surprise – and yanked her out the front door. “COME, EMILY! WE HAVE TO BE EXCEPTIONALLY FAST IF WE ARE TO BEAT SANS!”

“H-hey, wait! At least let me lock the door before we go!” Emily yelled, cringing at Papyrus' volume.

“NEW NEW HOME IS THE SAFEST CITY FOR MILES!” proclaimed Papyrus, dragging Emily towards what had to be the most beautiful red convertible she had ever seen in her entire life. “IF YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT BEING ROBBED, THEN YOU'RE BEING RIDICULOUS!” Papyrus dragged Emily to the passenger's side of the car, then promptly let go of her, opening the side door and bowing like he was her personal chauffeur. “HOP-- oh, I mean... hop inside, please. Sorry for all the shouting. Again.”

Emily forced a smile on her face and nervously stepped into Papyrus' car. As soon as she sat down, her expression became that of surprise. What a cushy seat! Then the smell of leather reached her nostrils, and all her cares were completely gone... for about two seconds, which is how long it took for Papyrus to slam his way into the driver's seat and startle her. She stared at him. He grinned at her. She forced herself to grin back.

Papyrus frowned... somehow. “Aren't you going to put on your seatbelt?”

Emily snapped out of her anxious reverie and said, “Oh, uh, of course,” before hurriedly buckling herself in. “Uh, safety first?”

Papyrus grinned again. “Always! Now, then... let us be off!” He turned on the ignition, then raised his knee high, as if he were planning to slam down on the gas. Emily's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to scream...

… only for her and Papyrus to be interrupted by the sound of someone shouting from above. Papyrus looked towards the roof of the house next to Emily's. “Oh, look, it's Undyne!”

Despite having just narrowly avoided a heart attack, Emily had enough sense left in her to inquire, “Who is Undyne?” It did not take long for her to get an answer.

A figure suddenly appeared on the roof Papyrus was looking at, their shape a mere shadow in the face of the bright sun. The figure gave a mighty shout of “NGAAAAAAAAAAAH!” and jumped straight down to the sidewalk. When they landed, a mighty boom echoed, and a great cloud of dust flew up around them. When the dust cleared, the figure was in the center of a crater in the concrete, bent on one knee, head lowered. The figure, a monster woman that vaguely reminded Emily of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, slowly stood up and revealed her face: an eyepatch over one eye, menacingly sharp teeth, fiery red hair, and an expression that clearly stated, “I'm friggin' awesome”.

Emily was inclined to agree, as stupefied as she was.

“ _That's_ Undyne!” said Papyrus, speaking as though that over-the-top entrance was an everyday occurrence. He turned and waved at the fish woman. “Hi, Undyne!”

“Papyrus! Were you just about to drive away with my new neighbor?” asked Undyne. “I didn't even get to say 'hi' yet!”

“Well, I apologize for that, Undyne, but we are in a bit of a hurry,” said Papyrus.

“Hey,” said Undyne, stepping up to the car, “What's with your voice, Pap? You sound so... quiet.”

“Ah, that's because Emily here is sensitive to loud sounds,” Papyrus explained. “I'm just trying to be considerate... even if I _have_ slipped up a few times.”

Undyne peered at Emily through one narrowed eye. “Emily, huh?” She then gave a big, toothy smile. “Nice to meet you! I'm one of your next door neighbors. I live with my fiancée in the house I just jumped off of.”

“Uh... nice to meet you, too,” replied Emily slowly. “Um... what were you doing on the roof? And how did you make that landing!?”

“I wanted to make an epic first impression,” explained Undyne, placing her hands on her hips.

“You've certainly made an impression in the sidewalk... again,” observed Papyrus. “I can't but feel your constant property damage to our fair city is a wee bit irresponsible, Undyne.”

“Aw, come on! I used to burn my house down every week back in the Underground! Why is everything so different up here?” complained Undyne with a huff.

“You're asking NOW?” said Papyrus in disbelief. “We've been living up here for nearly two years, Undyne!”

“Yeah, I know, but... WHY?”

“Well... maybe because your old house was made of carved stone? And your current one is made of very flammable wood? And there's no river full of water running through the city, unlike in Waterfall?”

Undyne let out a loud sigh. “Yeah, I guess you're right. Alphys _has_ been telling me I need to keep my fighting spirit under control. I guess now that the Royal Guard's not a thing anymore, I'm sort of... pent up?”

Papyrus frowned, as best he could for a skeleton. “Hasn't sparring with me done you any good, Undyne?”

Emily saw a sweatdrop run down Undyne's face. “Uh, yeah! Totally! You're really tough, Papyrus! It's just... um... ah... so, where are you guys headed?” the fish woman asked quickly. “I don't mean to change the topic, but didn't you say you were in a hurry?”

“We're going to my house! Emily's daughter, Pat, is there right now. Apparently, she too has a fondness for fighting. So we're going over there to make sure she doesn't.”

Undyne raised an eyebrow at Emily. “Your kid likes picking fights?”

Emily gulped. “Um... well, I'm tr-trying to teach her not to...”

Undyne grinned. “Hey, that's okay! She sounds just like me when I was a kid! Why don't I come with you guys?”

“My car only has two seats, Undyne!”

Undyne rolled her eye. “I meant on my motorcycle, you bonehead!”

“Oh, uh, right!” said Papyrus, tugging at the collar of his battle body. “I knew that.”

“I'll be right back,” said Undyne. “Don't you two go anywhere... OR ELSE.” She then ran into the garage beside her home.

“Uh... what does she mean by, 'or else'?” asked Emily nervously.

“Oh, Undyne just likes to act tough,” explained Papyrus. “She's what you might call an alpha female. But don't worry, she's actually really nice! She and I are very good friends, so I should know. You just need to take the time to get to know her. Just... uh... don't engage her in a sparring match. You're not experienced enough to take her on. And don't let her near your couch. She can and will suplex it.”

Emily nodded and gave an uneasy chuckle. “G-got it. D-duly noted.” She wanted to throw up.

Just then, the roar of a motorcycle engine blasted from Undyne's garage, and the fish woman came riding out into the street, making a U-turn so that she was parallel to Papyrus' car. She was wearing a helmet with a plastic fish fin on the top. “Ready when you are, Papyrus!” she yelled with a grin.

“I've been ready!” Papyrus yelled back. “I was trying to race Sans back home! Somehow he always manages to beat me when we race each other somewhere!”

“He's racing you!? That lazybones!?” Undyne exclaimed. “Fuhuhuhuhu! That's hilarious! How about we make this a three-way race? Me versus you versus Sans! Let's go!”

There was a glint in Papyrus' socket, and his skeletal smile seemed to widen somehow. “Challenge accepted!”

'This is it,' Emily thought, beads of sweat dripping down her brow. 'This is how I die.' And just when she thought things couldn't get more hectic, she heard a female voice yell Undyne's name. Emily looked up, and saw a yellow lizard monster wearing glasses, pajama pants, and a t-shirt running towards them.

“Undyne!” cried the lizard monster, rushing up to the motorcycle. “W-where are you going!? I was about to make us some ramen! And it's the real kind, not in a cup!”

Undyne rubbed the back of her neck. “Oh, uh, sorry, babe! This was a spur of the moment thing! I'm racing Papyrus and our new neighbor to Papyrus' house! You wanna come with us!?”

“Uh... okay??” the lizard monster replied. “Do you have my helmet?”

Undyne pulled a helmet with cat ears on it out of nowhere. “Of course I do! Hop on!”

As the lizard monster took her helmet and put it on, Undyne said, “Hey, neighbor! This is my fiancée, Alphys! Alphys, meet our neighbor, Emily!”

Alphys tightened her helmet straps and waved awkwardly at Emily. “P-pleased to meet you! O-oh... you... you don't look so good,” she noted with a frown. “Are you okay?”

Emily gave a shaky thumbs-up. “Y-yeah! I'm okay.”

“Are you sure? You look pale.”

Papyrus and Undyne looked towards Emily, who was now feeling very self-conscious. “Uh... I'm... I'm f-fine. Ready to race anytime... heh...”

Undyne squinted at her for a moment. “Hmm... well, if you sure you're okay, then let's get moving! Come on, Alphys, hop on!”

The lizard monster tightened the straps of her helmet and climbed up behind Undyne, clinging to her tightly. “Alright, let's go!”

“Okay, Papyrus, on three!” said Undyne. “One...”

“Two!” yelled Papyrus.

“THREE!” they yelled together, and with their tires screeching, Papyrus and Undyne took off like shots from a gun. Emily slammed backwards against her seat as she thought, 'I have made a terrible mistake'.

Houses, buildings, and other landmarks whizzed by in a blur. Engines roared like wild animals. Papyrus' cackling (“NYEH-HEH-HEH-HEH!”) and Undyne's hearty laughter (“FUHUHUHUHU!”) could just barely be heard over the ruckus. Alphys screamed like a banshee as she hung onto Undyne for dear life. As for Emily, she was too panicked to make so much as a sound, almost too stunned to breathe.

And then, almost as quickly as it had started, it was over. The four had parked in front of a large, three-story house with a big front yard and a white-picket fence. Emily had barely registered that Papyrus' wild ride had actually come to an end, until she heard him and Undyne debating over who had won. She turned to face them. They were on the sidewalk, arguing in the most animated way possible, arm gestures and all. Alphys was nearby, leaning on Undyne's motorcycle and looking more than a bit nauseous.

“I'm telling you, I'm clearly the winner!” yelled Undyne. “My front tire touched the sidewalk long before yours did!”

“AND I AM TELLING YOU THAT I WON ON SHEER STYLE!” Papyrus snapped. “I PULLED INTO A PERFECT PARALLEL PARK AS SOON AS I GOT HERE!”

“Racing isn't about style! It's about getting to the finish line first!”

“RACING IS ABOUT STYLE AND SPEED!”

“Is not! Tell 'em, Alphys!”

Alphys shook her head. “Um... I'm n-not in any position to argue about anything right now.”

“Alright, fine, I'll ask our new neighbor!” said Undyne. She and Papyrus both turned to Emily. “Hey, Emily! Who won this race? Here's a hint: it was me!”

“UM, NO. CLEARLY IT WAS ME!” said Papyrus. “Right, new friend?” he asked with a smile.

Emily stared at both of them for a minute before taking a deep breath, unbuckling her seatbelt, exiting the car, and standing before the two stubborn monsters. She looked up at both of them, furrowed her brow, and shouted, “NEITHER! IT WAS NEITHER OF YOU!”

Papyrus and Undyne jumped backwards in surprise. They did NOT expect such a loud voice to come from a human who was so much shorter than them.

“Are you two insane!?” Emily yelled. “Do you have any idea how fast you were going!? We could have freakin' DIED! I honestly thought I was gonna die! You guys are as reckless as hell! I was practically making out my last will and testament in that car!”

“Emily, please, calm down!” cried Papyrus.

“Calm down!? CALM DOWN!? All I wanted was to get to my daughter and make sure she didn't kill anybody, but no! Apparently I should have gone to church this morning, so I could have all my sins repented before I took a speeding ticket to hell!”

Papyrus winced. “Oh, Emily, I'm so sorry! I let my competitive streak get the better of me, I'm afraid. Please forgive me! I didn't mean to be a bad friend, honestly I didn't! And look, we made it! We're here in one piece, see? No harm done!”

Emily raised an eyebrow at him before taking in her surroundings. She looked at Papyrus' car: it was in perfect condition. She looked at Undyne's motorcycle: not even a scratch on it. She took a second look at Papyrus and Undyne. They seemed perfectly fine. And she herself felt okay. In fact, aside from the fact that Alphys' yellow complexion was greener than before, it seemed Papyrus was right.

Emily blushed. “Ah. Um... I guess we are okay, aren't we? Uh... s-sorry for losing my temper.”

Undyne grinned. “Hey, that's okay. I guess we kinda were overdoing it, so... sorry, I guess. Then again, kicking things up a notch is sort of what I'm known for.”

“Indeed!” agreed Papyrus. “Undyne has a tendency to crank it up to eleven when she's around! But really, I truly am sorry, Emily. Can you ever forgive me?”

Emily nodded. “Of course, Papyrus. Just... please promise me you'll drive more safely when I'm around next time?”

“'Next time'?” echoed Papyrus. “You mean... you'd like to go driving with me again?” he asked hopefully.

“Well, yes, if you promise.”

Papyrus saluted her. “I promise! Wholeheartedly! Even if I don't actually have a heart. Or any other internal organs.”

Emily giggled. “Alright, I'll hold you to that promise. Thank you, Papyrus.”

It was then that Sans suddenly walked out from behind a bush, holding a glass of lemonade. “hey, what's going on out here? what's the commotion?”

“Sans! Finally, you made it, you lazybones!” exclaimed Papyrus. “Undyne joined the race, yet I still managed to win! For once, I made it someplace before you did, broth--!” He paused. “Hey. Wait a second! Where did you get that lemonade?”

Sans raised his glass. “oh, this? toriel gave it to me. I actually got here long before any of you.”

Papyrus went googly-eyed. “WHAT!? NOOOOOO! I THOUGHT I HAD YOU BEAT FOR ONCE! WHY!?” Tears ran down Papyrus' cheekbones.

Undyne's eye widened. “Wait, what? I don't even see your tricycle anywhere, Sans! How'd you get here so quick?”

' _Tricycle?_ ' thought Emily, stupified.

Sans winked his right eye. “that's MY little secret, undyne.” He walked past her towards Alphys. “hey, al. has undyne been using you for magic practice? because you are looking seriously green.”

“I'm f-fine, Sans, r-really,” Alphys insisted. “I... I don't think I'll ever get used to high speeds on Undyne's bike.”

“here, I've got a mint with your name on it,” said Sans, pulling a plastic container from the pocket of his hoodie. “or rather, I've got mints with mettaton's name on it that I think might help you.” He opened the container, took out a mint, and pressed it into Alphys' hand. “here ya go.”

As Alphys muttered a “thank you” and started sucking on the mint, Papyrus stopped crying almost immediately and yelled, “SANS! THOSE-- those are my MTT-brand Breath-Freshening Mints! I was looking for them everywhere this morning! Why do YOU have them!?”

“easy, bro. since we were welcoming people today, I wanted to keep my breath in MINT condition.”

“OH MY GOD, SANS!”

Emily burst into hysterical laughter. She hadn't even finished laughing when she saw the front door to the house they were in front of open. A large furry monster and two human children filed out of the house and down towards the front gate. Emily stopped laughing when she immediately recognized one of the children.

“Pat!” cried Emily, rushing over to the gate.

“Mom!” cried Pat, running towards her mother. When the two reached each other, Emily didn't even wait for the gate to be opened; she picked Pat up from under her arms and held her to her chest. Pat automatically wrapped her arms and legs around Emily, and hugged her tight.

“Oh, Pat,” said Emily, “I'm so happy to see you right now, you have no idea! Are you alright? Have you been good? You haven't gotten into any fights? You've been nice to Frisk and Toriel?”

“Mom, Mom, calm down! To answer your questions: I'm fine, I've been good, I haven't fought anyone, and I've been very nice,” said Pat. “And I'm happy to see you, too.”

The furry monster approached Emily and opened the gate. “Greetings! You must be Miss Thyme. I am Toriel. And this is my child, Frisk,” she said, gesturing towards the child at her side. “Your daughter has been a lovely houseguest.”

Frisk looked up at Emily and waved politely.

“It's very nice to meet you both,” said Emily. “I'm so sorry if I've been making a scene out here.”

Toriel smiled warmly. “Oh, do not worry about it. It is quite an adjustment for any human to start living among monsters. Besides, a little noise never bothered me, anyway. I almost welcome it, to be honest.” She then eyed Papyrus and Undyne. “What I do not welcome, however, is putting our city's newest citizen in danger. What have I told you both about racing your vehicles around town?”

“Uh... not to do it?” answered Papyrus nervously. Sweat beaded down his skull.

“And you did it anyway, because... why?” asked Toriel, placing her hands on her hips.

“Uh... because... we thought it'd be fun?” answered Undyne, also sweating a little.

Toriel tutted in disapproval. “You two are grown adults. One would think you would know better. Papyrus, you are grounded. No car for a week.”

“WHAT!?” cried Papyrus. “Oh, but Toriel--!”

“Don't you 'but Toriel' ME, mister. As for you, Undyne? Asgore will be hearing about this.”

“Aw, what? Come on, Toriel, don't tattle on me to Asgore! That's not fair!” cried Undyne.

“Life isn't fair. Get used to it, young lady.”

Pat stared at Toriel. “Ouch. Classic mom burn.”

Sans chuckled at Papyrus. “ooh, you got in trouble!”

Papyrus clawed at his skull in frustration. “AUGH, SHUT UP, SANS!”

Toriel shook her head at the skeleton brothers and addressed Emily. “I apologize for all this, Miss Thyme. I do not suppose you would care to come inside and join us for some lemonade and finger sandwiches? All freshly made! I know they won't entirely make up for everything, but...”

“Uh, sure, sounds good!” said Emily. “I admit I'm feeling kind of peckish after all the unpacking I've been doing.”

“Ah, wonderful!” said Toriel. “Alright, everyone, come along!” she instructed. “I am not sure if I have made enough food and drink for everyone, but I can always make more if need be. Let us go, we have guests to entertain!”

Emily continued to carry Pat as she followed Toriel past the gate. She kept her pace slow and steady as she eyed the front yard and the surrounding neighborhood. It was all so nice and well-kept; clearly Toriel was one of the more well-off residents of New New Home. Not surprising considering her former title as queen. Emily's musings caused her to trail behind a sulking Papyrus, Undyne, and a now much-better (but worrying about Undyne) Alphys. She didn't realize Sans was right at her side until she heard the skeleton say, “a speeding ticket to hell, huh? that was a pretty colorful way of putting it.”

Emily looked down at Sans in surprise. “Wait, you heard all that? Just how long were you behind that bush?”

Sans grinned up at her. “long enough to hear you give my brother an earful. or rather, an auditory ossicle-ful.”

Emily winced. “Oh... um, I'm really sorry, Sans. I don't normally lose my temper like that.”

Sans cocked his skull to one side. “you don't have to tell me you're sorry. you had every right to get upset. and you apologized to my brother, so really, there's no need to apologize to me.”

“So... you're not mad?” asked Emily.

“nah. if anything, I thought that whole speech about you repenting your sins was hilarious. really didn't expect something like that to come out of someone like you.”

“Well... I kind of... dabble in poetry as a hobby? Maybe that's where it came from, I dunno.”

“poetry, huh? what kind of poetry do you write?”

“Free verse, mostly. Though I sometimes experiment with different styles.”

“ever write a limerick?”

“Tried to. I suck at limericks.”

Sans' grin widened. “wanna know my favorite limerick?”

Emily snorted. “Somehow, I don't think I do. At least not in present company,” she said, giving Pat a slight jostle.

“you really think I'd say a dirty limerick in front of a kid?” asked Sans.

“The best limericks are _always_ dirty, Sans.”

The skeleton nodded sagely. “true.”

Pat rolled her eyes. “Ugh, can you two save the banter for later? I'm hungry!”

“Alright, alright,” said Emily, “I know how cranky you get when you haven't been fed, Patricia. Just like when you were a baby.”

“I'm not a baby anymore!” Pat whined.

“You're MY baby,” said Emily, kissing her daughter's forehead.

“Mom, stop, that's embarrassing!” cried Pat, wiping her forehead with her arm.

“Oh yeah, you're definitely hungry,” said Emily. She saw Toriel and Frisk holding the door open for Papyrus, Undyne, and Alphys as they filed into the house. “Thank you so much for looking after Pat, Toriel. But she's starting to get grumpy from lack of food, so...”

“Oh, but that is what the finger sandwiches are for!” said Toriel. “I can assure you, there is plenty of food to go around, and if not, I am happy to make more.”

“Are you sure? I don't want us to be any sort of trouble.”

“I am positive. It is no trouble at all. Please, come inside and eat with the rest of us,” Toriel insisted.

“Well... okay, if you say so! Come on, Pat, let's get some food in your tummy,” said Emily, stepping into the house. She did not see Sans pause outside the door to peer up at the tree in the front yard, but Frisk did.

“Sans? Is something wrong?” asked Toriel.

Sans was silent for a moment or two before he shrugged and said, “nah. thought I saw something. just a trick of the light.”

Frisk quickly peeked in the direction Sans had been looking. Something was peeking out through the thick leaves of the tree. It was small, only as big as a half-dollar and just as round, but glinting brightly in the sunlight.

A camera lens.

Frisk felt a tug at their shoulder. They turned and saw Sans smiling casually at them.

“c'mon, kiddo. let's go eat. can't have YOU turning into a skeleton, can we?”

Frisk allowed Sans to lead them inside, Toriel chuckling as she followed last and closed the door behind them.

 


	4. Nietzsche's Grove

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out where Emily's husband has been all this time, and trouble begins to brew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been way too long since I last updated this fic, and I feel really bad about it. But hey, at least the latest chapter is finally here! I'm even starting work on the next one.
> 
> Returning readers may want to re-read the previous chapters, as I edited them a little bit. I may even edit them again, which I'm sorry about, but I want this story to be the absolute best it can be. You also may want to re-read to get a refresher on what the heck this story's about. It really has been a while!
> 
> In this chapter, we cut to a brand-new location with a bunch of new characters. Hope that doesn't bother any of you, and that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> Be sure to stay tuned, as Asgore will show up in the chapter after this one!

In downtown Ebott City, within the tallest building, a man in a gray suit was calmly sipping tea, relaxed under the sun's rays that poured through the large windows of his ornate office. He had just taken a long, soothing sip when his smartphone's ringtone went off. He put down his teacup, picked up the phone from his desk, and checked the caller ID. It read, “Tree Lab 003”. The man, now more alert, answered the call and held the phone to his ear. “This had better be important, Adams,” he said without preamble.

The voice on the other end was full of fear, and the sound of alarms and panicked yelling could be heard in the background. “Mr. Smith, the God Tree! It's... it's dying!”

Smith leapt from his chair. “WHAT!? What happened!?”

“I – I don't know, sir! The tree just started rapidly losing its life force out of nowhere! We're trying everything we can to stop it now, but nothing is working!”

“Dammit!” yelled Smith. “How could this happen? The magi-tech we've been using should have held it a lot longer...” He growled in aggravation. “I'll be right there. Do whatever you can to contain the tree's magic. Just don't let it die before I get there!” Without waiting for a response, Smith hung up and speed-dialed a different number.

Smith got a response in the middle of the second ring. A serious, monotone voice greeted him. “Sir? Is something the matter?”

Smith took a deep breath, struggling to remain calm. “Johnson, I just received a phone call. The God Tree is dying. Meet me at my door as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir,” came the immediate reply. Smith hung up and put his phone in his pants pocket. He sprinted to the door of his office, only to stop at the mirror beside it and check his appearance quickly. Even in a dire situation, he was not about to look anything less than perfect in front of his employees. Imperfection, after all, was a sign of weakness. Noticing his short ponytail was loosening, Smith untied and re-tied it, making sure not a hair was out of place. When he was satisfied, he opened the door to leave, only to find Johnson – his assistant – standing there, wearing a black suit and tie, the lenses of his glasses polished to a bright shine.

Despite himself, Smith smiled. “My... as punctual as always, Johnson. And better dressed than me, even.”

Johnson did not smile back. “Thank you, sir.”

Smith motioned for Johnson to follow him, and he started walking to the nearby elevator in the small hallway where they stood. “You were very quick this time. Do you have some sort of shortcut I'm unaware of?”

Johnson followed Smith closely behind, matching him footstep for footstep. “Not at all, sir.”

Smith pressed a button, and the elevator's doors opened. “Are you simply that efficient, then?” he asked, stepping inside.

Johnson joined him. “I try to be, sir.”

Smith searched his key ring. “You're doing a bang-up job, then.” He found the key he was looking for, then inserted it in a lock beside a floor button labeled “B3”. He turned the key, pressed the button, and doors closed. With a slight jolt, the elevator began to rapidly descend.

“All joking aside, Johnson,” said Smith, “I'm actually... less than pleased about what's happening, to say the least.” He tugged at his collar. “This shouldn't be happening, not now. This run was going perfectly. We needed at least another five years.”

Johnson shook his head, expressionless. “I'm terribly sorry, sir.”

Smith sighed. “Well... at least we made it farther this time than any previous run. Perhaps this is as far as we're destined to get. Hell knows I've made thousands of attempts before.”

Johnson raised an eyebrow. “You're not giving up, are you, sir?”

“I may have no choice, Johnson. I've tried countless different ways to absorb the tree's magic into another vessel, but nothing works. It always escapes. All that magic... it's so strong, so _alive_. I'm simply no match for all the intent of those Chosen _bastards_ ,” Smith spat.

Johnson's brow furrowed with concern. “Sir... I've never seen you give up on _anything_.”

Smith glared at him. “I'm not going down without a fight, Johnson, so don't feel sorry for me yet! And wipe that look off your face!”

Johnson went stone-faced automatically. “My apologies, sir,” he said, back to his usual monotone.

Smith turned his attention towards the elevator doors. “I haven't given up _yet_. I'm just facing the fact that I may have to. Simple as that. And it's not like I've lost the determination to live, for crying out loud, so there's no need for silly drama. But... goddammit, coming up with a Plan B is going to be a pain.”

It took at least five minutes for them to finally reach floor B3, which was far, far deep underground. The elevator doors opened, and Smith and Johnson ran out into a long, well-lit hallway, rushing through it as fast as they could. Eventually, they reached a huge, heavy metal door with a security panel installed to its left. Smith typed in a sequence of numbers on the panel's keypad, then leaned in towards a small camera. After a few seconds, there was a satisfying beeping sound, and the door opened with a loud “woosh”.

There was chaos in the large room beyond the door. Countless researchers and technicians in lab coats were yelling orders, typing furiously on computers, and rushing from one spot to the next to get the machinery surrounding the center of the room, which were working on full blast. In the room's center was a large patch of earth from which grew a now-mostly-dead apple tree of tremendous girth and height. Even its many apples were now in mid-rot. A strange blue aura surrounded the plant, rising away from it like smoke from a fire and disappearing into thin air.

Smith stepped into the room, looking upon the tree in horror. “No...!” His eyes rapidly searched the room. “Thyssens!” he called out. “Where the hell is Dr. Thyssens!?”

A red-haired, pale-skinned man in glasses rushed up to him. “I'm here, Mr. Smith.”

“Simon, just what the hell happened here!?” yelled Smith. “Our tech has been running smoothly this entire run!”

“It would seem someone tore a piece of bark off the tree, sir,” said Thyssens calmly, “and now the damage is taking its toll.”

Cursing loudly, Smith ran to the center of the room and stood before the tree, which did indeed have a large piece of bark ripped off of it. With a wave of his hand and a flash of light, a large metal staff with three spiked points at one end appeared in his grip. He took the staff in both hands and aimed it at the tree. With a desperate roar, he hit the tree at full force with a steady stream of green light. Everyone else in the room gaped in awe at the sight of their boss; it was rare to see him casting magic, let alone with such incredible power. The only one who appeared unmoved was Johnson, who amidst the chaos calmly made his way to the front of the crowding lab workers, watching his employer, and waiting.

“Don't you die, damn it!” Smith shouted. “Don't you DARE die!” He adjusted his footing before increasing the power of the stream, which grew in circumference and caused Smith's body to jerk back slightly from recoil. The tree seemed to be responding to the magical assault at first, slowly regenerating its bark, and sprouting a few green leaves on separate branches as life energy began returning to it. Even a tiny apple blossom bud was starting to grow.

“Come on... c-come on-- agh!” Smith gasped. He faltered in his stance. He could feel his own life force begin to drain. He'd been giving this healing spell everything he had, and it was taking a toll on him. Pain wracked his body as he forced his gaze at the tree's highest branches. The blue aura was still rising away, but at a slower pace now. The tree itself was still sprouting a few more leaves, but the apple blossom had not yet bloomed. Smith realized in that moment that at this rate, despite his progress, he would be dead before he could fully revive the tree and save what little magic was left.

With a groan, Smith ceased the spell, the stream of healing magic disappearing before he let go of his staff and fell to his knees on the grass. He could only feebly raise his head and watch as the tree rapidly aged once more, leaves wilting and falling off, apples rotting to pure black, and the apple blossom bud shriveling and drying up. The last of blue aura soon left the tree, and all that was left of the once mighty plant was darkened dead wood, rotting apples and dead leaves surrounding its base.

“... The God Tree is dead,” murmured Smith in disbelief. “Its magic is gone. Another failure...” He paused in thought for a moment or two before glancing at his staff. He waved his hand, and it transformed into a walking stick with a heavy silver knob handle. He grabbed it, and used it to help himself to his feet. He turned to his employees, who had all gathered in a huddled mass, Johnson at the front of them all. Smith eyed them carefully before letting out a deep sigh.

“Alright... allow me to ask you all a question: which one of you did this?” The tone of Smith's voice was no different than a parent asking their children which one of them drew with crayon on the wall. The lab workers began eyeing each other and muttering nervously. All the while, Smith waited quietly for an answer. When none came, he said, “Come on, now. It's obvious that one of you sabotaged me. I'm not stupid. Only a lab worker, or myself, would be able to get past all the security measures surrounding the God Tree. And I know it wasn't Johnson, because he has no clearance to the lab on his own. He can't get in without me, and he's my personal assistant! So... I shall only ask one more time: which one of you had the audacity to do this? To destroy the very project this company has been working on since its inception? The project I've been attempting to complete for countless years? For countless REPEATED years?”

This time, Smith was met with silence. He gripped his walking stick hard enough for his knuckles to turn white. “Very well... I see I have to make an example of one of you.” He waved his hand, and one of the lab workers cried out as he was suddenly jerked forward by some invisible force. He was stopped just inches before Smith's face, his soul floating in front of his body in a dark blue color. The man shook with fear as Smith glared into his eyes. “Dr. Adams... you're the one who first called me about the tree dying. Was it you who did this?”

“N-no! It wasn't me, Mr. Smith! I swear!” cried Adams.

“Are you sure? Aside from Dr. Thyssens and Dr. Lucien, you're the most important member of this project's team. You could have easily damaged the tree, then made yourself look innocent by calling me to tell me what was happening.”

“No, no, no! That's not true! I didn't do it!” insisted Adams.

“Then who did, Adams?”

“I... I don't know! I really don't know!”

Smith paused for a moment, staring intently into Adams' frightened eyes. Suddenly, a red magic bullet with a sharp point appeared before Adams' soul, then pierced through it, making Dr. Adams scream in agony. A noise like many bullets hitting him at once accompanied the sound. At the last possible second, just when it seemed like Adams' soul was about to shatter, the red bullet withdrew from it. Adams collapsed to the floor, wheezing for air.

“Your maximum HP is only a single point now, Adams,” warned Smith. “If I so much as pinch your ear, you will die right now. So... who killed the God Tree?”

“I, I don't know! I don't –” Adams coughed. “I honestly don't know! Please, please don't kill me!” he begged.

Smith said nothing, but raised his hand, ready to send the bullet down at Adams once more. Adams panicked and pushed himself onto his backside, scooting backwards from Smith as he continued to beg for his life. Smith still said nothing, only following Adams, the bullet moving ahead of him, his cold eyes locked onto the scientist like a predator to its prey.

“WAIT!” someone shouted. “Mr. Smith, please! I know who did it! Please don't kill him!”

Smith looked up to see who had spoken. “... Ah, Dr. Evans! You know who did this?”

Another lab worker desperately pushed her way to the front of the crowd and nodded. “Yes! It was Dr. Thyssens! He did it! I saw him head for the lab during our lunch break today!”

Smith raised an eyebrow. “Really? Our chief scientist did this? Are you absolutely certain, Dr. Evans?”

“Well, I don't have proof,” said Evans, “but I swear I saw him head for the lab. He was gone for a long time before he finally came back. And then we heard the alarms go off, and –”

“Say no more,” Smith interrupted. He made the red bullet disappear before swiftly laying a hand on Adams. A green glow briefly overtook the scientist before he gasped for breath, seemingly revived. “My apologies, Dr. Adams,” said Smith. “Your maximum HP has been restored to normal. You also have the rest of the day off. Now leave. We shall talk later.”

As Adams scrambled to his feet and ran out of the lab, Smith turned his attention to Thyssens, who was looking far too calm for such a heavy accusation. Smith slowly approached him, walking stick gripped tightly. On the way, he beckoned Johnson to follow him, and he did so without a word. As the two men drew closer to Thyssens, Smith put on a friendly smile. “Simon! Buddy... chum... pal... friend... brother... amigo... head of the God Tree project, my chief scientist, one of my most trusted employees. I do hope Dr. Evans is having a jape on my part, because... hoo boy... if she's not... you are in it DEEP.”

Smith stopped before Thyssens and leaned in close to his face on his walking stick, still smiling. “So... is she right? Did you, in fact, destroy all my hard work?”

Thyssens had not so much as flinched this entire time. He merely nodded in response to Smith's question. “Yes. I did.”

Smith closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. “Of course you did... Johnson, would you kindly grab Dr. Thyssens so we can have a little chat with him in my office?”

“Yes, sir,” Johnson obeyed, quickly seizing Thyssens from behind and holding him tightly. The scientist made no attempt to struggle or free himself.

“Dr. Lucien, do you know who was on lab security duty during lunch?” Smith inquired.

“That would be Schmidt, sir,” said Lucien.

“Ah, yes, him... well, tell him to personally bring today's security footage to my office, won't you? I'd love to know where the hell he was during all this.”

“Yes, Mr. Smith,” Lucien replied, pulling out his phone to make the call.

“Let's go, Johnson. And step lively, won't you, Simon? Don't make this harder than it needs to be,” warned Smith. Thyssens complied as Johnson began escorting him out of the lab, Smith following close behind.

Several minutes later, Smith, Johnson and Thyssens had entered Smith's office. Smith stood in front of his desk and scowled at Thyssens. “Throw him to the floor, Johnson.”

“Yes, sir,” Johnson obeyed, giving Thyssens a harsh shove. The scientist fell to the floor face-first with a grunt, burning his skin against the carpet, his glasses sliding down his nose. Smith's footsteps were heavy against the carpet, and Thyssens looked up just in time to see his employer standing over him with a grimace.

“Simon... I have absolutely no words to describe my disappointment with you,” said Smith. “I knew you were up to something for the past few months now. I've been keeping a very close eye on you since you left your family. What surprises me is that THIS was what you were planning. Of all the stupid things you could have done...” He sighed. “You do realize that betrayal on this level is signing your death wish, don't you?”

Thyssens looked Smith straight in the eye as he calmly adjusted his glasses. “I do realize that, Reed. But I don't care.”

Smith cocked his head to one side. “You don't care? I don't understand... what would compel you to sabotage my life's work? To throw away your own life just to see me fail?”

Thyssens glared at Smith. “You took away something important to me. I figured it was only logical that I take away something important of yours.”

“Ah... is this about the curse I placed on you?” asked Smith nonchalantly. “I admit, I'm a bit surprised. That soul lock was meant to inhibit the love you felt towards your family. Did you break the spell somehow?”

“No,” Thyssens admitted, “I haven't. But though I don't any feel love towards my wife and daughter, I remember what loving them felt like. It made me happy. THEY made me happy. They were my everything.” His eyes narrowed at Smith. “I despise you for what you've done to me, Reed. You want to kill me? Go right ahead. I have nothing more to live for, anyway.”

Smith thought this over for a moment, then smiled. “Oh, Simon... if you really wanted me to lift the curse, all you had to do was ask. Here, I'll do it right now.”

Smith waved a hand, and Thyssens' red soul was summoned forth from the scientist's body. Bound to the soul was a ghostly-looking lock and a pair of chains. Thyssens looked on in shock as Smith raised his hand, palm outward, and moved it in a circular motion. With a click, the lock came undone, and it, as well as the chains, fell off. They disappeared into nothingness, and Thyssens' soul seemed to glow a brighter red than before. With a wave, Smith sent the soul back into Thyssens' body.

Thyssens clutched his chest, overcome with emotions he hadn't felt in quite some time. He fell to his knees and began to cry, overwhelmed and relieved. Smith smirked as he watched him.

“I... I don't understand,” Thyssens croaked. He raised his head up at him, slowly. “Why did you do that?”

Smith shrugged. “You wanted to love your family again, so I gave you what you wanted. Unfortunately, nothing comes without a price, Simon. I'm still going to kill you... but first, I want to make you suffer.”

Smith pulled out his smartphone and dialed a number. It only rang once before a response came.

“Yes, Mr. Smith?”

“Have security sent to my office. I want Dr. Thyssens placed in a cell on level B2.”

“Yes, sir.”

Smith hung up and grinned at Thyssens. “So, Simon... one question before you're taken away: since you love your family again, tell me... how would you feel if I decided to make _them_ pay for you screwing me over?”

Thyssens went wide-eyed, then glared daggers at Smith. “YOU SON OF A BITCH!” he shouted, jumping up at him. Unfortunately, Smith was too quick for him, and with a wave of his hand, Thyssens was frozen in place. His soul floated before him once more, now green in color.

“Ah, the beauty of green magic,” Smith taunted. “Can't move freely, can you? Must really be annoying for someone with a red soul.”

Thyssens let out a string of curses as he struggled to move his body, which made Smith laugh in amusement.

“My, I had no idea you had such a colorful vocabulary! Go on, keep insulting me. It won't get you any--”

Smith paused when Thyssens suddenly went very quiet, and his face turned white. A familiar blue aura surrounded him, and he began to shake as heavy beads of sweat rolled down his face, and tears leaked from his eyes.

Johnson stepped forward, staring at Thyssens' sudden change in demeanor. “Sir? What's happening to him?”

Smith did not take his eyes off of Thyssens. “The God Tree's death has allowed the magic inside it to return to the bloodlines from which it came. The innate magical abilities of the Chosen's descendants are awakening. Dr. Thyssens is one of those descendants. His body is expelling water so that his physical form can absorb the magic properly.”

Just as Smith said this, Thyssens let out a bloodcurdling scream of pain. Against the will of Smith's magic, his body contorted in mid-air into a fetal position as he continued to scream.

Johnson raised a hand to his mouth. “Good lord...”

“I'd be screaming too if my physical form was being drastically altered in one fell swoop,” said Smith, speaking at a loud volume over Thyssens' cries. Just as he said this, two armed security guards burst into the office and drew their weapons. Smith held a hand up at them.

“Easy, fellas. We're in no danger. Dr. Thyssens is just having a bad day.” Smith snapped his fingers, and Thyssens' soul turned red again, though now it seemed to be pulsing with light as the scientist fell to the floor. Thyssens' body jerked several times before one final scream tore from his throat, and his soul pulsed with one more bright burst of light. Thyssens then went limp, eyes rolling into the back of his head before closing. The blue aura dissipated, and all was still.

The security guards were staring in shock, weapons pointed to the floor, while Johnson had a look of mild concern and disbelief.

“Sir... is he...?”

Smith knelt down in front of Thyssens, picking up his wrist and checking for a pulse.

“... He's alive. He'll be in some pain when he wakes up, but otherwise he'll be fine.”

Smith stood and pointed at Thyssens with his walking stick. “Okay, get him out of here. Get him in a cell... and make sure he gets a change of clothes. He's soaked with sweat.”

The guards put their guns away and picked up Thyssens from the floor, supporting either side of him on their shoulders. They then quickly carried him out of the office. Smith looked down at the carpet, eyeing the giant wet spot Thyssens had left behind.

“Ugh... disgusting. Guess I'll have to tell the cleaning lady to shampoo that.” He casually turned to Johnson with a smile. “So, Johnson! I don't know about you, but I think I need some more tea after all that. Care to join me?”

Johnson hesitated a bit before standing tall and responding, “Of course, sir. Rose hip tea as usual?”

“What else would it be?”

Smith picked his tea cup off of his desk and brought it to the small sink on his office, still staggering a bit on his walking stick. He dumped out the now-lukewarm tea, then placed the cup down so that he could begin to brew a new batch. He sighed as he put his kettle back on the mini-stove to re-heat the water.

“And here I was hoping to have a nice, peaceful day. But, you can't always get what you want, right, Johnson?”

“Sir, if I may ask... what's going to happen now that the descendants are getting their bloodline's magic back?”

Smith turned on the heat to boil the water. “I imagine they'll all go through the same thing Dr. Thyssens just went through. It'll likely make the news. Thankfully, there aren't many descendants left... I made sure of that long ago. As for us... I suppose I have no choice but to try and round these people up. If I can't be the one to send monsters back to where they came from, then I'll have to convince these newfound magicians to do it for me. It seems the back-up plan their ancestors had will be enacted after all.”

“And after that? You wanted to absorb the God Tree's magic. That magic is in those magicians now.”

“I suppose I'll let Christine deal with them... unless I can think of a better idea first. I would really rather not use Christine, though. It would be a shame for all that godlike power to be wasted like that.”

“Perhaps the fusion project you've been working on might help?” Johnson suggested.

“Hmm... perhaps. But the project is far from finished at this point. Unless we reach some kind of breakthrough, that probably won't be an option. It's too bad Dr. Thyssens double-crossed us. His absence is going to be a huge step back in ALL of my remaining projects.”

“What about the avatar project? It has been almost two years, sir.”

Smith paused for a moment before answering. “... I believe I'm quite finished with that project, Johnson. After all the disasters that occurred with it, I think it would be best to abandon it. I never want to deal with the consequences again. You have no idea how much re-coding it took to make sure that... that _thing_ never saw the light of day again.” He shuddered. “Not many things frighten me, you know. I've been around too long to be scared of much. But that? I've seen little worse than _that_.”

Johnson nodded. “Understandable, sir.”

Smith stroked his chin. “Though I must admit... I still have so many questions. Perhaps I can let monsters stay on the surface just long enough to find the answers I'm looking for. I was so focused on the God Tree project that I've had no time for that before.”

“Forgive me, sir, but sometimes I worry that you're spreading yourself too thin.”

Smith gave Johnson a weary smile. “I worry that I'm not keeping myself busy enough. You know what sucks about my life, Johnson? Getting bored. For me, it's the worst feeling in the world. It's like an itch. If I don't scratch that itch, I might do something truly horrible. Maybe even irreversible. I came close to doing that more times than I'd care to admit. I don't want to tell you how many resets and reloads it took to fix some of my mistakes.”

The kettle started whistling. Smith turned off the stove, then went to retrieve a second teacup for Johnson, as well as two teabags. “Ah... I'm still a bit shaky from before. Good thing we have the tea, huh?”

“Will you be alright, sir? Do you want me to do that for you?”

“No, no thank you. I've got this. Just pull up a chair for yourself at my desk. I'll be right there.”

Johnson did as Smith bid him, picking up a nearby chair and bringing it to the opposite side of Smith's desk. Just as he put it down, he heard Smith call him.

“Uh, Johnson? It would seem I need your help after all. I... I can't carry both teacups,” said Smith sheepishly.

Johnson immediately sprinted over and carefully picked up both filled cups with their saucers. “I'll take them, sir.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Johnson brought the cups to the desk and set them down. He watched as Smith hobbled to the desk, then shakily took a seat.

“Ugh... so tired. I'm surprised I was able to use my magic on Dr. Thyssens. Healing that tree could have killed me.”

“Sir, now that I think about it... couldn't you reload your save file and prevent Dr. Thyssens from doing what he did?”

Smith took a long sip of tea before responding. “Sadly, I can't. I saved my file just before I started drinking my first cup of tea... which was just after lunch ended. The damage had long been done by then. The only way I could go back further is if I messed with the code, and after the avatar project, I refuse to do that again.”

“What about a reset?”

“My last reset point was made just before the avatar project started. Like I said, I'm not going through that nonsense ever again.”

Johnson shook his head. “I'm truly sorry, sir.”

Smith shrugged. “Don't be. There's nothing either of us can do. No use crying over spilled milk... even if I still want to tear Thyssens to shreds.” He took another sip of tea. “Ah... I'm feeling better already. Doesn't magic make everything taste better, Johnson? Speaking of which, drink your cup! It's going to get cold.”

Johnson sipped his tea. “Wonderful as always, sir.”

Smith smiled. “Glad to hear it. So, how about we turn on the news after we're finished? I imagine there will be reports of magical activity very soon.”

“Sounds good, sir.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meet our villain, ladies and gentlemen! I love this jerk, and his assistant. We'll be seeing a lot of them, and I can't wait. ;)

**Author's Note:**

> So, in case you guys didn't read the summary, this is a re-write of an old fanfic I just took down. See, this isn't an OC/Sans/Papyrus fanfic anymore. It's an Asgore/OC fanfic. Surprise! Heh-heh... *gulp*
> 
> I know, I know, a lot of people don't like Asgore, and I can understand why they'd feel that way. But I think Goat Dad gets way more hate than he deserves, if he even deserves any. At any rate, I've grown to love him way more than the skelebros, which is part of the reason I've changed the story. The other reasons are (A) I'm not as confident as I used to be in writing the skelebros as main characters because both of them have so many secrets to hide, and (B) I was pretty stuck in writing that third chapter from before, and I couldn't continue, As of writing this, Chapter One has been in the works for months and still isn't finished because of health reasons and writer's block.
> 
> Also as of writing this... I had fans of the old fic who managed to stick with me even when I announced this re-write. And recently, I let them down big time, because I said I wanted to leave Tumblr on an indefinite semi-hiatus. The fan blog someone made for the fic (A FAN BLOG, CAN YOU BELIEVE I WAS THAT LUCKY!?) wrote a goodbye message that frankly broke my heart. They said it seemed like I didn't care about my fans. But I do! I care a lot! They're the whole reason I wanted to continue building up the world of Descentale and formulate ideas for it! But like they pointed out, I had promised chapters for months, and I hadn't churned out any. I swear I'm going to more than make up for it now. I never want to disappoint anyone ever again. Maybe I'll finish this fanfic, and maybe I won't. But I'll write so much of this that people of going to get sick of me.
> 
> See ya!


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